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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. march — music
  3. stock — shares
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. press — to push
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. fall — the season
  10. content — the amount
  11. press — newspapers
  12. content — happy
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. fall — to drop
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. march — the month
  17. stock — goods
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. press — a publisher
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fall — to drop
  24. march — the month

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