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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. stock — shares
  3. spell — letters
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. net — after costs
  6. object — to protest
  7. branch — a division
  8. object — a thing
  9. spell — a short time
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — help
  12. press — a publisher
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stock — goods
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. net — in sport
  18. object — an aim
  19. press — to push
  20. press — newspapers
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — the tool
  23. net — for catching
  24. spell — magic

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