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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. press — a publisher
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. present — a gift
  6. saw — the tool
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. present — the time now
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. press — newspapers
  11. vault — a safe
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. stock — goods
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bear — the animal
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bear — the animal
  22. press — to push
  23. present — there
  24. saw — 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