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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. press — to push
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — goods
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. field — farmland
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. squash — the sport
  9. stock — shares
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. fall — the season
  17. squash — to crush
  18. board — a committee
  19. press — a publisher
  20. field — for sport
  21. board — to get on
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. field — a subject
  24. press — newspapers

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