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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. press — to push
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. last — to go on
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cold — an illness
  8. shower — to wash
  9. press — newspapers
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. last — final
  12. cue — a hint
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. press — a publisher
  16. shower — rain
  17. bass — low music
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bass — the fish
  20. cue — for pool
  21. last — finally
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stock — goods
  24. mouse — for a computer

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