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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. press — a publisher
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rock — a stone
  7. mark — a trace
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rock — music
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. mark — a grade
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. press — to push
  18. press — newspapers
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. scale — in music
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. spring — the season
  23. plane — a tool
  24. arm — part of the body

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