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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. ground — a position
  4. cue — a hint
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bass — low music
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cell — a phone
  9. ground — the earth
  10. cue — for pool
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. cue — a signal
  13. tube — the underground
  14. stock — goods
  15. press — a publisher
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bass — the fish
  18. press — to push
  19. perch — the fish
  20. tube — a container
  21. cell — in biology
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. press — newspapers

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