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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. board — to get on
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. cap — of ice
  6. current — happening now
  7. court — of law
  8. degree — an amount
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. current — electric
  13. board — a committee
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — to push
  16. land — a country
  17. court — for sport
  18. current — of water
  19. degree — from a university
  20. stock — shares
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — a hat
  23. degree — temperature
  24. court — of a king

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