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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. press — a publisher
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. press — newspapers
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. net — in sport
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. mine — for digging
  9. vault — a safe
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lean — to bend
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. press — to push
  14. lean — thin
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. net — for catching
  17. cold — an illness
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. net — after costs
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cold — the Cold War

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