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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 120 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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. stock — goods
  3. press — a publisher
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. can — to be able to
  6. chest — of your body
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. press — to push
  10. tube — the underground
  11. chest — of your body
  12. tube — a container
  13. chest — a box
  14. press — newspapers
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. cap — a lid
  17. stock — shares
  18. cap — a hat
  19. content — happy
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. cap — of ice
  22. can — a tin
  23. content — the amount
  24. scale — in music

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