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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. can — a tin
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. stock — shares
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. can — to be able to
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. press — a publisher
  12. can — a tin
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. content — the amount
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stock — goods
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bat — the animal
  23. content — happy
  24. press — to push

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