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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. rush — hurry
  6. mug — a face
  7. stock — shares
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. land — ground
  12. press — newspapers
  13. stock — goods
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. branch — a division
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — to push
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. mug — a cup
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mug — to rob
  22. wind — moving air
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. straw — dry grass

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