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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. chair — a leader
  4. press — a publisher
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. squash — the sport
  7. bore — to tire
  8. degree — temperature
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bore — to drill
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. degree — from a university
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. press — newspapers
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bark — to shout
  21. press — to push
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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