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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. last — final
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. ground — crushed
  9. last — finally
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. press — to push
  12. ground — the earth
  13. press — a publisher
  14. rash — hasty
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. last — to go on
  18. rash — a series
  19. stock — shares
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. deal — to handle
  23. press — newspapers
  24. trunk — of a car

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