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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. stock — shares
  3. game — a match
  4. march — the month
  5. spring — a coil
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — a division
  8. spring — the season
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. press — newspapers
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. stock — goods
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. press — a publisher
  21. spring — of water
  22. fork — in a road
  23. game — wild animals
  24. press — to push

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