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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  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. jam — a tight spot
  2. drill — army training
  3. stock — goods
  4. last — to go on
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. key — in music
  8. stock — shares
  9. press — to push
  10. swing — in golf
  11. drill — a practice
  12. key — for a lock
  13. last — final
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. drill — the tool
  16. content — happy
  17. swing — to play on
  18. key — the most important part
  19. content — the amount
  20. last — finally
  21. swing — music
  22. press — newspapers
  23. stock — a soup base
  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