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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cold — not warm
  4. firm — a company
  5. press — newspapers
  6. stock — shares
  7. press — to push
  8. fork — in a road
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bore — to tire
  13. firm — steady
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rash — hasty
  16. bore — to drill
  17. date — the fruit
  18. firm — decided
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. press — a publisher
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. rash — a series

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