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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mine — for digging
  7. press — to push
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. chest — of your body
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. season — in sport
  13. press — newspapers
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pit — in a race
  16. stock — goods
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. snap — to click
  21. chest — a box
  22. press — a publisher
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. chest — of your body

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