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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mine — for digging
  3. press — a publisher
  4. pit — in a race
  5. content — the amount
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. stock — goods
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. press — newspapers
  11. pit — a hole
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. content — happy
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stock — shares
  22. hand — help
  23. press — to push
  24. mine — an explosive

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