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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: last · drill · cold · spell · chest · press · stock · stick

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spell — a short time
  3. last — to go on
  4. drill — army training
  5. chest — of your body
  6. press — newspapers
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. cold — not warm
  9. last — finally
  10. press — a publisher
  11. spell — letters
  12. press — to push
  13. spell — magic
  14. drill — a practice
  15. stock — shares
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. chest — of your body
  19. drill — the tool
  20. last — final
  21. stock — goods
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. chest — a box

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