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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. cold — not warm
  3. land — to come down
  4. rush — hurry
  5. press — newspapers
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. spring — a coil
  9. land — ground
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. land — a country
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. stock — goods
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pass — a permit
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. press — to push
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. stock — shares
  24. press — a publisher

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