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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. ball — a dance
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bass — low music
  8. press — a publisher
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stock — shares
  12. bass — the fish
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cell — a phone
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. press — to push
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cell — in biology
  23. press — newspapers
  24. ball — a round shape

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