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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bulb — for light
  4. stock — goods
  5. drill — a practice
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bulb — for light
  8. press — newspapers
  9. content — the amount
  10. drill — army training
  11. press — to push
  12. lie — to recline
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cold — not warm
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. content — happy
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. press — a publisher
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. content — videos and posts
  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