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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. press — a publisher
  3. stock — shares
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. stock — goods
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lean — to bend
  9. cold — an illness
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. press — to push
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. tube — a container
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bass — the fish
  16. tube — the underground
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. press — newspapers
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. lean — thin
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. stock — a soup base

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