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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. stock — shares
  3. press — a publisher
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — the tool
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. file — a tool
  9. mark — a trace
  10. press — to push
  11. staff — employees
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mark — a grade
  14. file — a line of people
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. press — newspapers
  20. stock — goods
  21. file — a document
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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