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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. lie — to recline
  3. swing — music
  4. stock — goods
  5. press — newspapers
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. field — farmland
  8. spring — of water
  9. swing — to play on
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. press — to push
  12. spring — the season
  13. swing — in golf
  14. press — a publisher
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. present — a gift
  18. spring — a coil
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. stock — shares
  24. present — the time now

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