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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stock — shares
  3. clip — to cut
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. spring — the season
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. press — to push
  8. bat — the animal
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. clip — a video
  11. kick — in football
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. press — a publisher
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. stock — goods
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spring — a coil
  22. toast — bread
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. kick — with a leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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