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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. last — to go on
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — a company
  5. track — a path
  6. firm — decided
  7. track — to keep track
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. track — a song
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. cold — not warm
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cold — an illness
  14. press — a publisher
  15. stock — shares
  16. press — to push
  17. row — a line
  18. last — finally
  19. plane — a tool
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. stock — goods
  23. press — newspapers
  24. last — final

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