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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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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: pit · press · club · stock · bowl · perch · tear · mouse

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. stock — goods
  5. perch — the fish
  6. press — a publisher
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. club — for dancing
  9. press — newspapers
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. tear — to rip
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pit — a hole
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. stock — shares
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. club — for golf
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. pit — in a race
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. club — a group

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