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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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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  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. stock — a soup base
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. squash — the sport
  4. stock — shares
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. clip — to cut
  7. spring — the season
  8. swing — to play on
  9. clip — a video
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. clip — for paper
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. swing — in golf
  14. branch — a division
  15. squash — to crush
  16. stock — goods
  17. spring — of water
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. swing — music
  20. press — to push
  21. spring — a coil
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — newspapers

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