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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cold — an illness
  5. present — the time now
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. press — to push
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. press — a publisher
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mark — a trace
  12. press — newspapers
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. present — a gift
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. present — there
  20. cap — of ice
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cap — a hat
  24. mark — a grade

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