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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 124 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. stock — goods
  3. spring — of water
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. club — for dancing
  7. stock — shares
  8. club — for golf
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. object — to protest
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. press — newspapers
  13. object — a thing
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. club — a group
  16. wax — to grow
  17. press — to push
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. object — an aim
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. spring — the season

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