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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. prune — to trim
  3. net — for catching
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. staff — employees
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wound — an injury
  9. clip — for paper
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. staff — employees
  13. clip — a video
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. press — a publisher
  17. staff — a stick
  18. net — after costs
  19. clip — to cut
  20. stock — shares
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — to push
  23. bass — the fish
  24. stock — goods

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