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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. track — a song
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. pop — soda
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stock — goods
  8. pop — music
  9. track — to keep track
  10. press — a publisher
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wound — an injury
  14. stock — shares
  15. toast — bread
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — letters
  18. pop — to visit
  19. spring — the season
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — to push
  22. track — a path
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. wound — an injury

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