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

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. tube — a container
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. staff — employees
  5. cold — an illness
  6. press — to push
  7. press — a publisher
  8. stock — shares
  9. staff — employees
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. press — newspapers
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. staff — a stick
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. stock — goods
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. tube — the underground

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