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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. stock — goods
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. press — a publisher
  5. mark — a grade
  6. capital — money
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. club — a group
  9. dip — to sink
  10. press — newspapers
  11. capital — a city
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. club — for golf
  17. staff — employees
  18. press — to push
  19. staff — employees
  20. mark — a trace
  21. stock — shares
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. staff — a stick
  24. dip — to dunk

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