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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. press — to push
  6. cold — an illness
  7. clip — a video
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. wake — a trail
  10. capital — money
  11. clip — for paper
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. press — a publisher
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. press — newspapers
  16. capital — a city
  17. pit — in a race
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. dip — to sink
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — a hole
  23. cold — not warm
  24. clip — to cut

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