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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. net — in sport
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. branch — a division
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. net — for catching
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. net — after costs
  19. cell — a phone
  20. press — newspapers
  21. stock — shares
  22. press — a publisher
  23. land — ground
  24. press — to push

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