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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. tear — to rip
  5. stock — shares
  6. tear — from crying
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. press — a publisher
  9. spring — the season
  10. press — newspapers
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. spring — of water
  13. rule — government
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bulb — for light
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bass — the fish
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bass — low music
  22. bulb — for light
  23. stock — goods
  24. date — the fruit

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