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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. file — a line of people
  5. branch — a division
  6. stock — shares
  7. press — a publisher
  8. fine — high quality
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. fine — all right
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. file — a tool
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. file — a document
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — goods
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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