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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. file — a tool
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stock — shares
  8. cold — an illness
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. cue — for pool
  13. press — newspapers
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. file — a document
  17. press — a publisher
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. file — a line of people
  22. press — to push
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cue — a signal

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