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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rash — hasty
  6. press — to push
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. press — newspapers
  17. hand — help
  18. stock — goods
  19. clip — a video
  20. press — a publisher
  21. rash — a series
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. stock — shares

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