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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. content — happy
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. clip — a video
  6. press — a publisher
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. press — to push
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. dip — to sink
  12. clip — to cut
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. rock — music
  15. content — the amount
  16. clip — for paper
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. press — newspapers
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. rock — a stone
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. stock — shares

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