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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. swing — music
  5. press — to push
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. swing — to play on
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. swing — in golf
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cold — not warm
  12. press — a publisher
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stock — shares
  15. tear — to rip
  16. press — newspapers
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. stock — goods
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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