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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. plane — a tool
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. press — newspapers
  6. press — to push
  7. spring — the season
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bound — certain
  12. cold — an illness
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. spell — magic
  15. spring — of water
  16. bound — tied together
  17. spell — letters
  18. press — a publisher
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. bound — obliged
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pit — in a race

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