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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. object — an aim
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wind — moving air
  7. press — a publisher
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. face — part of the head
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — to bend
  13. press — to push
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — goods
  16. object — to protest
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. object — a thing
  23. press — newspapers
  24. cell — in biology

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