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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. press — a publisher
  5. face — part of the head
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mug — a face
  9. kid — child
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. face — to point toward
  15. squash — the sport
  16. kid — to tease
  17. press — newspapers
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. mug — to rob
  20. plane — a tool
  21. face — to confront
  22. mug — a cup
  23. press — to push
  24. stock — goods

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