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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. clip — a video
  5. press — a publisher
  6. stock — shares
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. clip — to cut
  9. court — for sport
  10. swing — to play on
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. court — of law
  13. staff — employees
  14. press — to push
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. clip — for paper
  17. swing — music
  18. press — newspapers
  19. staff — employees
  20. court — of a king
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. snap — to click
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bowl — a dish

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