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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 120 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. capital — a city
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. shower — to wash
  9. press — newspapers
  10. fork — in a road
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. stock — goods
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cell — in biology
  15. stock — shares
  16. press — to push
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pop — soda
  19. prune — to trim
  20. pop — music
  21. capital — money
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. press — a publisher

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