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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 120 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — newspapers
  3. can — to be able to
  4. press — to push
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. mate — a friend
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. mate — a partner
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. can — a tin
  12. stock — shares
  13. sharp — clever
  14. stock — goods
  15. mate — to breed
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — to sink
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. can — a tin
  24. spring — of water

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