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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. stock — shares
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. press — a publisher
  7. scale — in music
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bear — the animal
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. key — in music
  14. key — the most important part
  15. press — to push
  16. key — for a lock
  17. cold — an illness
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. shower — to wash
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — goods

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