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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. staff — a stick
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — newspapers
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bear — the animal
  9. kick — in football
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. press — to push
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. mark — a grade
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cold — an illness
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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