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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. press — newspapers
  3. spring — a coil
  4. face — part of the head
  5. ball — a great time
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. face — to point toward
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. press — to push
  10. spring — of water
  11. season — in sport
  12. ball — a dance
  13. spring — the season
  14. season — of the year
  15. pitch — completely
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. press — a publisher
  23. face — to confront
  24. pitch — a sports field

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