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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: club · fall · perch · net · capital · bat · stand · press

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. perch — the fish
  4. press — to push
  5. club — for dancing
  6. press — a publisher
  7. fall — to drop
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fall — the season
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. club — a group
  15. stand — to bear
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. capital — a city
  19. bat — the animal
  20. fall — to drop
  21. capital — money
  22. club — for golf
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. press — newspapers

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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