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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — to push
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stock — goods
  16. kid — child
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cold — not warm
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stock — shares
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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