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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. press — to push
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. stand — to bear
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. stock — goods
  8. swing — music
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. press — a publisher
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cap — a hat
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cap — a lid
  17. pitch — completely
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stock — shares
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. press — newspapers

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