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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 120 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 reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. stock — goods
  3. spell — magic
  4. press — to push
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wake — a trail
  7. stock — shares
  8. spell — letters
  9. bound — certain
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. spell — a short time
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. cold — not warm
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bound — obliged
  20. press — a publisher
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cell — a phone
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. press — newspapers

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