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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. mate — to breed
  5. pound — a weight
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stock — goods
  9. mate — a friend
  10. press — a publisher
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. wind — moving air
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wind — moving air
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. stock — shares
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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