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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — a path
  3. press — newspapers
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — a match
  6. press — to push
  7. cold — not warm
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. press — a publisher
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. track — to keep track
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cold — an illness
  19. game — wild animals
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. bulb — for light

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