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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. mine — for digging
  3. press — newspapers
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. capital — a city
  7. press — a publisher
  8. capital — money
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. stem — to come from
  11. season — of the year
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. stock — goods
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. kick — in football
  18. season — in sport
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. press — to push
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. kick — with a leg

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