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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. hand — in cards
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. hand — help
  7. board — a committee
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. press — to push
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. press — a publisher
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. drill — a practice
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. board — to get on
  20. press — newspapers
  21. drill — the tool
  22. cold — an illness
  23. deal — to handle
  24. drill — army training

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