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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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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. key — in music
  3. last — to go on
  4. press — a publisher
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. press — to push
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — to come from
  12. last — finally
  13. press — newspapers
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stock — shares
  17. kid — child
  18. last — final
  19. kid — to tease
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. stem — a stem cell

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