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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stock · season · lie · prune · court · straw · saw · press

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. saw — the tool
  4. court — of a king
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. season — in sport
  7. lie — to recline
  8. prune — to trim
  9. court — for sport
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. court — of law
  14. press — newspapers
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. press — a publisher
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. stock — shares
  20. prune — to trim
  21. saw — the tool
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. press — to push
  24. stock — goods

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