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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. press — a publisher
  5. pop — to visit
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. pop — soda
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — to eat
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pop — music
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. cold — an illness
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. press — to push
  21. cold — not warm
  22. chip — for betting
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. file — a line of people

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