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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. stock — shares
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. present — a gift
  8. bulb — for light
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. press — to push
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stock — goods
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — there
  16. press — newspapers
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mine — for digging
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. press — a publisher
  23. date — the fruit
  24. chair — a leader

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