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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. mug — to rob
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — a face
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. press — a publisher
  12. file — a line of people
  13. press — to push
  14. stock — shares
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. press — newspapers
  18. shower — to wash
  19. file — a document
  20. season — in sport
  21. shower — rain
  22. season — of the year
  23. file — a tool
  24. bowl — to roll

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