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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 116 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. ball — a dance
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — music
  7. season — in sport
  8. stock — shares
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — to push
  12. pass — a permit
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. ball — a great time
  15. press — newspapers
  16. degree — from a university
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. degree — temperature
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. degree — an amount
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. rock — a stone
  23. stock — goods
  24. ball — a round shape

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