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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cell — in biology
  4. chip — to eat
  5. present — the time now
  6. press — newspapers
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. roll — a cake
  9. snap — to click
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. present — there
  12. cell — a phone
  13. press — a publisher
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cold — not warm
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. press — to push
  20. present — a gift
  21. perch — the fish
  22. cold — an illness
  23. roll — a list
  24. cell — in a prison

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