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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. cue — a hint
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. field — a subject
  8. wake — a trail
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. cue — a signal
  13. field — for sport
  14. stock — shares
  15. cue — for pool
  16. stock — goods
  17. field — farmland
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — to push
  23. press — newspapers
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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