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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. press — to push
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — government
  7. land — ground
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. land — to come down
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. cold — not warm
  17. stock — goods
  18. toast — bread
  19. pit — in a race
  20. stock — shares
  21. press — a publisher
  22. pit — a hole
  23. press — newspapers
  24. land — a country

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