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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. press — newspapers
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. pound — a weight
  9. capital — a city
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. press — to push
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. degree — an amount
  17. capital — money
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. degree — temperature
  24. press — a publisher

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