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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: press · club · pitch · stock · roll · perch · leaves · kid

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. club — for dancing
  3. press — a publisher
  4. roll — a list
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pitch — completely
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. roll — a cake
  12. press — newspapers
  13. kid — child
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. press — to push
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. club — for golf
  18. perch — the fish
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. stock — shares
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. club — a group

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