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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. march — music
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. stock — goods
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. race — a contest
  12. march — the month
  13. press — a publisher
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. race — humankind
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. press — to push
  19. stock — shares
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wound — an injury
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. march — the month

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