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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. firm — decided
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — all right
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hand — in cards
  9. spell — magic
  10. stock — goods
  11. season — in sport
  12. press — a publisher
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. spell — a short time
  16. firm — steady
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. spell — letters
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. press — to push
  21. press — newspapers
  22. firm — a company
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — to add flavour

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