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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: cell · nail · foot · press · last · prune · stock · sharp

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cell — a phone
  3. press — newspapers
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. last — finally
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. last — to go on
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — to push
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stock — shares
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. sharp — clever
  22. stock — goods
  23. cell — in biology
  24. foot — a measure

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