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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. press — to push
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. degree — from a university
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. degree — an amount
  9. march — the month
  10. stock — shares
  11. band — a ring
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. rash — hasty
  16. march — music
  17. rash — a series
  18. march — the month
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. press — a publisher
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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