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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. sharp — clever
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cold — not warm
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. press — to push
  13. bound — tied together
  14. net — in sport
  15. board — a committee
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bound — certain
  18. saw — the tool
  19. press — newspapers
  20. saw — the tool
  21. board — to get on
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. jam — in traffic

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