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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spring — the season
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. stock — goods
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. press — to push
  13. mine — for digging
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. press — a publisher
  18. spring — of water
  19. press — newspapers
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — to grow
  24. spring — a coil

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