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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 120 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. stock — goods
  5. bound — obliged
  6. cold — an illness
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. press — to push
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. lie — to recline
  12. stock — shares
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bass — low music
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bound — tied together
  20. game — a match
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bound — certain

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