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

Word bank: stock · fork · sharp · press · clip · pit · last · shower

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pit — in a race
  4. last — final
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pit — a hole
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — a publisher
  12. stock — shares
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. fork — in a road
  17. clip — a video
  18. last — to go on
  19. stock — goods
  20. press — to push
  21. clip — for paper
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. clip — to cut

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