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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. object — an aim
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. press — a publisher
  7. stock — shares
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. net — in sport
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. stock — goods
  13. present — a gift
  14. net — for catching
  15. object — to protest
  16. net — after costs
  17. press — newspapers
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — hasty
  21. press — to push
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. object — a thing

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