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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mine — for digging
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. cell — in biology
  6. lean — thin
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. track — to keep track
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lean — to bend
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cell — a phone
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. press — newspapers
  17. track — a song
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. press — a publisher
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. track — a path
  24. press — to push

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