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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rush — hurry
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. stock — goods
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. press — to push
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. game — a match
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. stock — shares
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. press — a publisher
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. saw — the tool
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bat — the animal
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bat — for baseball

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