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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 116 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. tear — from crying
  4. press — newspapers
  5. hand — in cards
  6. field — farmland
  7. press — to push
  8. field — for sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. hand — help
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. tear — to rip
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. field — a subject
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. file — a line of people
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. tear — from crying
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. prune — to trim
  24. stock — goods

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