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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: mine · current · game · press · can · cell · hand · ball

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. can — a tin
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. ball — a great time
  6. press — to push
  7. hand — help
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cell — in biology
  10. ball — a dance
  11. current — of water
  12. press — newspapers
  13. current — happening now
  14. mine — for digging
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. can — a tin
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. game — a match
  21. can — to be able to
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. current — electric
  24. cell — a phone

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