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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. press — a publisher
  5. hand — in cards
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chair — a leader
  8. race — the arms race
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. hand — help
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. press — newspapers
  13. race — a contest
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. press — to push
  18. sharp — clever
  19. race — humankind
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. prune — to trim
  23. saw — the tool
  24. stock — a soup base

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