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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. press — a publisher
  4. capital — a city
  5. stock — goods
  6. net — for catching
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. sharp — clever
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. suit — clothes
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. press — newspapers
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — money
  17. press — to push
  18. suit — to fit
  19. bark — to shout
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. suit — in cards
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stock — shares

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