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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. drill — the tool
  3. stock — shares
  4. pound — a weight
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. court — of a king
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — a publisher
  10. bat — the animal
  11. press — to push
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. court — for sport
  14. drill — army training
  15. court — of law
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. stock — goods

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