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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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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. club — for dancing
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bound — certain
  5. press — newspapers
  6. scale — in music
  7. bound — tied together
  8. club — a group
  9. date — the fruit
  10. press — to push
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. press — a publisher
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bound — obliged
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. club — for golf
  17. lean — thin
  18. scale — size or range
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lean — to bend
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. date — on the calendar

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