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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. ball — a dance
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. stock — shares
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mug — to rob
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mug — a face
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cold — an illness
  15. plane — a tool
  16. row — a line
  17. ball — a great time
  18. mug — a cup
  19. stock — goods
  20. craft — boats
  21. row — to paddle
  22. craft — a skill
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. stock — a soup base

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