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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. press — to push
  7. mark — a trace
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stock — shares
  11. tear — from crying
  12. press — newspapers
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. tube — the underground
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. tear — to rip
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. press — a publisher
  20. tube — a container
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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