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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. press — to push
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. press — newspapers
  9. fall — the season
  10. mate — to breed
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bat — the animal
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. press — a publisher
  18. cold — not warm
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. mate — a friend
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bowl — a dish

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