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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 120 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: stand · cell · press · bat · row · net · hand · chip

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. press — to push
  5. press — newspapers
  6. stand — to bear
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cell — a phone
  14. press — a publisher
  15. net — in sport
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — for betting
  18. cell — in biology
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. hand — in cards
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. row — a line

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