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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. present — the time now
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. stock — goods
  5. mate — a friend
  6. press — newspapers
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. press — to push
  9. present — a gift
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. file — a tool
  12. bat — the animal
  13. mate — to breed
  14. file — a document
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. press — a publisher
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. stock — shares
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. file — a line of people
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. present — there

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