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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. deal — to handle
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. capital — money
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. last — finally
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. stock — shares
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. press — newspapers
  20. capital — a city
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. stock — goods
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. press — to push

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