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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wound — an injury
  3. press — to push
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. suit — clothes
  6. bark — to shout
  7. spring — a coil
  8. suit — to fit
  9. press — a publisher
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. spring — of water
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. press — newspapers
  21. suit — in cards
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. spring — the season
  24. scale — in music

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