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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. rock — music
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rock — a stone
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. track — a song
  8. track — to keep track
  9. cell — in biology
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. stock — goods
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. track — a path
  24. cell — a phone

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