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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 124 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. press — a publisher
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stock — shares
  10. perch — the fish
  11. last — to go on
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. track — a song
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. track — to keep track
  16. last — finally
  17. track — a path
  18. press — newspapers
  19. last — final
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stock — goods

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