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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's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cold — an illness
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. game — wild animals
  6. press — a publisher
  7. track — a path
  8. game — a match
  9. stock — goods
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bark — to shout
  12. stock — shares
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — to push
  15. track — a song
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. lean — thin
  19. cold — not warm
  20. lean — to bend
  21. track — to keep track
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cold — the Cold War

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