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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: press · pitcher · patient · bowl · rule · ground · saw · stock

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. saw — the tool
  4. rule — a law
  5. stock — shares
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. ground — crushed
  10. rule — government
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — a position
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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