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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. field — farmland
  3. staff — employees
  4. press — newspapers
  5. field — a subject
  6. lie — to recline
  7. press — a publisher
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. stock — shares
  11. staff — employees
  12. field — for sport
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. capital — money
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. staff — a stick
  17. capital — a city
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. stock — goods
  20. press — to push
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. hide — animal skin

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