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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 120 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 was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. clip — a video
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — for a lock
  7. cue — for pool
  8. object — a thing
  9. cue — a signal
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. clip — for paper
  13. key — in music
  14. press — a publisher
  15. cue — a hint
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cell — a phone
  18. clip — to cut
  19. object — to protest
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cold — not warm
  22. object — an aim
  23. press — to push
  24. cold — the Cold War

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