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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. perch — the fish
  3. ground — a position
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ground — the earth
  7. press — to push
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. press — newspapers
  14. stock — goods
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. tear — from crying
  19. staff — a stick
  20. kick — in football
  21. staff — employees
  22. stock — shares
  23. press — a publisher
  24. ground — crushed

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