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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cap — a hat
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. chair — a leader
  5. foot — a measure
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — completely
  12. press — to push
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cold — not warm

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