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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. march — the month
  4. field — farmland
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. stock — goods
  8. field — a subject
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. press — to push
  11. press — newspapers
  12. march — the month
  13. press — a publisher
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. fine — all right
  16. march — music
  17. fine — high quality
  18. shower — to wash
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. shower — rain
  21. stock — shares
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. field — for sport

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