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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pit — a hole
  3. band — a ring
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. pit — in a race
  6. current — electric
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. stock — shares
  10. press — newspapers
  11. current — happening now
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. current — of water
  14. last — finally
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. press — to push
  18. stock — goods
  19. bass — low music
  20. press — a publisher
  21. band — a music group
  22. bass — the fish
  23. last — to go on
  24. cell — a phone

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