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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mate — to breed
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. track — to keep track
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. cold — an illness
  14. track — a song
  15. bulb — for light
  16. track — a path
  17. rush — hurry
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — goods
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — a friend
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. press — newspapers

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