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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 120 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. stock — goods
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. mine — for digging
  6. rush — hurry
  7. board — to get on
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. stock — shares
  12. row — a line
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. row — to paddle
  17. press — to push
  18. rule — government
  19. press — a publisher
  20. rule — a law
  21. press — newspapers
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. board — a committee
  24. row — a quarrel

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