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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 116 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. press — to push
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. wound — an injury
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. content — happy
  12. press — newspapers
  13. stock — goods
  14. press — a publisher
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — shares
  21. bat — the animal
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. content — the amount
  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