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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. press — to push
  2. press — a publisher
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. stock — goods
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. pit — in a race
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. march — the month
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. march — the month
  19. wound — an injury
  20. march — music
  21. pit — a hole
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. stock — shares
  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