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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. stock — goods
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. press — newspapers
  5. chair — a leader
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. roll — a list
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. ground — crushed
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ground — a position
  14. wind — moving air
  15. roll — a cake
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. press — to push
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. ground — the earth
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. stock — shares

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