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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. stand — to bear
  3. cold — an illness
  4. kick — in football
  5. mark — a grade
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. perch — the fish
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. cold — not warm
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. file — a document
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. file — a tool
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. press — to push
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. file — a line of people
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. press — a publisher
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. press — newspapers

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