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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. march — the month
  3. bass — the fish
  4. stock — goods
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. firm — steady
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. march — music
  9. firm — a company
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. press — to push
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — obliged
  16. firm — decided
  17. bass — low music
  18. march — the month
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bound — certain
  21. stock — shares
  22. hand — in cards
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — to go away

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