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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 do anything ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. staff — a stick
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. prune — to trim
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. bore — to drill
  8. cold — an illness
  9. swing — in golf
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. press — a publisher
  12. rash — a series
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. cold — not warm
  15. press — to push
  16. plane — a tool
  17. press — newspapers
  18. prune — to trim
  19. staff — employees
  20. bore — to tire
  21. staff — employees
  22. swing — music
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. swing — to play on

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