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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. craft — boats
  3. drill — army training
  4. craft — a skill
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. net — in sport
  7. press — newspapers
  8. tube — a container
  9. net — after costs
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. last — to go on
  12. drill — a practice
  13. stock — shares
  14. last — final
  15. game — wild animals
  16. press — a publisher
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. last — finally
  19. stock — goods
  20. tube — the underground
  21. press — to push
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. drill — the tool
  24. net — for catching

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