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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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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: content · press · fork · squash · lie · stock · cold · leaves

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. content — happy
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. stock — goods
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — to push
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. cold — not warm
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. press — newspapers
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. squash — the sport
  18. fork — in a road
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lie — to recline
  21. stock — shares
  22. squash — to crush
  23. lie — an untruth
  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