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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. court — of law
  3. press — a publisher
  4. craft — a skill
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. club — for golf
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. press — to push
  13. club — for dancing
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. press — newspapers
  17. stock — shares
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. capital — a city
  20. craft — boats
  21. capital — money
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stock — goods
  24. kick — in football

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