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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spring — a coil
  3. march — the month
  4. tear — to rip
  5. spring — of water
  6. press — to push
  7. ground — crushed
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spring — the season
  10. march — music
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. tear — from crying
  14. court — of law
  15. press — newspapers
  16. court — of a king
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bass — the fish
  19. ground — a position
  20. press — a publisher
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bass — low music
  23. court — for sport
  24. bass — the instrument

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