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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: last · press · row · net · staff · bat · rule · prune

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. row — a line
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. press — to push
  7. net — after costs
  8. press — a publisher
  9. staff — employees
  10. net — for catching
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. last — final
  13. rule — a law
  14. prune — to trim
  15. net — in sport
  16. last — finally
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bat — the animal
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. press — newspapers
  21. last — to go on
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. staff — a stick
  24. rule — government

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