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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. press — newspapers
  4. land — a country
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. pop — to visit
  11. stem — to come from
  12. deal — to handle
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. press — a publisher
  19. last — finally
  20. press — to push
  21. land — ground
  22. land — to come down
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. last — to go on

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