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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 120 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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. rest — what's left
  3. press — newspapers
  4. rest — a break
  5. game — wild animals
  6. season — in sport
  7. game — a match
  8. drill — a practice
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. press — a publisher
  14. degree — temperature
  15. drill — army training
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. rest — what's left
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. degree — from a university
  20. press — to push
  21. stock — goods
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — to come from
  24. drill — the tool

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