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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fall — the season
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. ground — the earth
  5. season — of the year
  6. stock — goods
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. ball — a great time
  11. stock — shares
  12. last — to go on
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. last — finally
  15. press — a publisher
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. ball — a dance
  20. press — newspapers
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. last — final
  23. press — to push
  24. season — in sport

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