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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. pit — a hole
  3. staff — employees
  4. hand — in cards
  5. press — a publisher
  6. staff — employees
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. press — to push
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. rash — a series
  16. press — newspapers
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — shares
  21. rash — hasty
  22. mine — for digging
  23. staff — a stick
  24. pit — in a race

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