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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. rule — a law
  3. press — to push
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. clip — a video
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. press — newspapers
  8. stock — goods
  9. cap — of ice
  10. clip — for paper
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — a list
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. clip — to cut
  19. press — a publisher
  20. rule — government
  21. cap — a hat
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cap — a lid
  24. stock — a soup base

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