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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 124 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. net — in sport
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. net — after costs
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. net — for catching
  11. rock — a stone
  12. press — newspapers
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rule — a law
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rule — government
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. press — to push
  19. stock — shares
  20. press — a publisher
  21. degree — from a university
  22. stock — goods
  23. rock — music
  24. degree — temperature

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