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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. band — a music group
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. game — a match
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pit — in a race
  8. press — to push
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. press — a publisher
  11. drill — army training
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pit — a hole
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. band — a ring
  18. press — newspapers
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. stock — shares
  21. game — wild animals
  22. drill — the tool
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. stock — goods

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