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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. stock — goods
  4. press — to push
  5. track — to keep track
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. track — a path
  11. rest — a break
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rest — what's left
  16. press — newspapers
  17. foot — a measure
  18. rest — what's left
  19. press — a publisher
  20. track — a song
  21. tube — a container
  22. cold — an illness
  23. toast — bread
  24. toast — the most admired

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