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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — goods
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. season — in sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stand — to bear
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. press — newspapers
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. season — of the year
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. wound — an injury
  22. scale — in music
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. season — to add flavour

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