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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 116 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: net · bat · mine · stock · press · sharp · kid · pitcher

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. stock — shares
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. press — a publisher
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. stock — goods
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. net — after costs
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. press — to push
  22. mine — for digging
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pitcher — a jug

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