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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  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. firm — a company
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. kid — to tease
  5. press — a publisher
  6. firm — decided
  7. pitch — completely
  8. march — the month
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — to push
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. kid — child
  13. march — music
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. bear — the animal
  18. firm — steady
  19. march — the month
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  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