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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 120 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: bat · ball · chip · court · mouse · stock · press · saw

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. stock — shares
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. press — a publisher
  7. chip — for betting
  8. court — for sport
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. stock — goods
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. court — of law
  15. press — newspapers
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. press — to push
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. court — of a king
  23. saw — the tool
  24. ball — a great time

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