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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stock — shares
  4. mine — for digging
  5. press — a publisher
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. rash — hasty
  8. cue — a signal
  9. press — to push
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — bread
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cue — for pool
  19. field — farmland
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. press — newspapers
  22. stock — goods
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. stock — a soup base

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