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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. stock — shares
  7. press — newspapers
  8. band — a ring
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. press — to push
  12. band — a music group
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cold — an illness
  15. press — a publisher
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. stock — goods
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pound — a weight
  22. cold — not warm
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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