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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. press — to push
  5. press — a publisher
  6. net — in sport
  7. tube — a container
  8. stock — shares
  9. fall — to drop
  10. press — newspapers
  11. stock — goods
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. fall — the season
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. net — for catching
  16. tube — the underground
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — a series
  22. net — after costs
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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