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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pit — in a race
  4. stock — goods
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bark — to shout
  7. press — a publisher
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. fall — the season
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. pitch — completely
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pit — a hole
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bark — of a tree

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