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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. mine — for digging
  5. degree — from a university
  6. tear — to rip
  7. degree — temperature
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. tear — from crying
  11. press — to push
  12. stock — goods
  13. press — newspapers
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. degree — an amount
  17. tear — from crying
  18. press — a publisher

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