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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: wound · press · pit · bass · pitcher · bowl · current · bat

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. current — happening now
  3. pit — in a race
  4. press — a publisher
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. current — of water
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bat — the animal
  18. current — electric
  19. wound — an injury
  20. press — to push
  21. pit — a hole
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bowl — a dish

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