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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. squash — to crush
  5. branch — a division
  6. squash — the sport
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cold — not warm
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. rash — hasty
  11. press — a publisher
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. press — to push
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. kick — in football
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. rash — a series
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. press — newspapers

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