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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. staff — a stick
  3. press — to push
  4. cap — a hat
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cold — not warm
  9. race — a contest
  10. rule — government
  11. race — humankind
  12. staff — employees
  13. rule — a law
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. staff — employees

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