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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. date — the fruit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. present — there
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. chair — a leader
  10. press — to push
  11. present — the time now
  12. court — of law
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wound — an injury
  15. court — of a king
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. press — newspapers
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. court — for sport
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. press — a publisher
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. stock — goods
  24. present — a gift

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