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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. stock — goods
  4. press — newspapers
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. file — a line of people
  9. band — a music group
  10. stock — shares
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. press — to push
  17. mate — to breed
  18. stem — to come from
  19. file — a tool
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. file — a document
  22. press — a publisher
  23. plane — a tool
  24. squash — the vegetable

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