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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 116 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. stock — goods
  4. scale — size or range
  5. drill — a practice
  6. rock — music
  7. scale — in music
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. ball — a great time
  10. press — newspapers
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. clip — to cut
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. drill — army training
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. kick — in football
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. ball — a dance
  22. drill — the tool
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — to move gently

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