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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. ground — a position
  3. stock — goods
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ground — the earth
  6. chest — of your body
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. chest — a box
  10. press — a publisher
  11. band — a ring
  12. press — newspapers
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. ground — crushed
  17. band — a music group
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. stock — shares
  21. fine — high quality
  22. press — to push
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fine — all right

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