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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. deal — to handle
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. ground — the earth
  11. stock — goods
  12. ground — crushed
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. press — to push
  16. lean — to bend
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bat — the animal
  19. ground — a position
  20. stock — shares
  21. press — a publisher
  22. chest — of your body
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. stock — a soup base

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