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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: present · mine · drill · staff · press · racket · stock · band

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. band — a ring
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stock — goods
  7. mine — for digging
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — a publisher
  11. present — a gift
  12. drill — the tool
  13. staff — employees
  14. drill — army training
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. staff — employees
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. staff — a stick
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. band — a music group
  21. present — there
  22. present — the time now
  23. stock — shares
  24. drill — a practice

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