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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. hand — help
  3. rock — music
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. press — to push
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rock — a stone
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. stock — goods
  15. spring — the season
  16. press — a publisher
  17. rash — hasty
  18. stock — shares
  19. press — newspapers
  20. rash — a series
  21. hand — in cards
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. pitcher — a jug

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