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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pit — in a race
  3. degree — temperature
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. press — a publisher
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rest — what's left
  12. stock — goods
  13. press — newspapers
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pit — a hole
  17. rest — a break
  18. rock — a stone
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. press — to push
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rest — what's left
  24. stock — shares

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