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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bass — the fish
  3. stock — shares
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. tube — the underground
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. last — final
  10. press — to push
  11. press — newspapers
  12. tube — a container
  13. press — a publisher
  14. stock — goods
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. last — to go on
  18. wound — an injury
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. spell — a short time
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bass — low music
  24. last — finally

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