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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. charge — in control
  3. press — to push
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — decided
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. land — a country
  8. capital — a city
  9. stock — goods
  10. charge — electricity
  11. spring — of water
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. spring — the season
  14. land — ground
  15. firm — a company
  16. capital — money
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. press — a publisher
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. press — newspapers
  21. stock — shares
  22. spring — a coil
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. charge — a price

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