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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: press · saw · pound · sharp · stock · cold · tear · bass

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. press — newspapers
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. cold — an illness
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stock — goods
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. press — to push
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bass — low music
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. stock — shares
  17. cold — not warm
  18. press — a publisher
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. saw — the tool
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pound — a weight
  24. saw — the tool

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