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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. press — a publisher
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — a stick
  8. staff — employees
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. press — newspapers
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wake — a trail
  15. stock — goods
  16. ground — crushed
  17. chest — a box
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. ground — a position
  21. press — to push
  22. mine — for digging
  23. chest — of your body
  24. coach — a trainer

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