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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · rush · present · press · pitcher · toast · stem · net

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. present — a gift
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. stem — to come from
  5. court — for sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. press — to push
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. net — in sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. present — the time now
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — newspapers
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. present — there
  21. rush — hurry
  22. toast — bread
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. net — for catching

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com