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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — in biology
  5. can — to be able to
  6. chair — a leader
  7. stock — goods
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cell — a phone
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. root — of a word
  16. press — a publisher
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — a tin
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. root — of a plant
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. root — the cause

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