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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. stock — goods
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. mug — a face
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stock — shares
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. mug — a cup
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. press — to push
  17. press — newspapers
  18. field — a subject
  19. wake — a trail
  20. cold — an illness
  21. press — a publisher
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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