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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. mug — a face
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cold — an illness
  7. press — newspapers
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. press — a publisher
  10. bark — to shout
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. press — to push
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. fine — all right
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. mug — to rob
  22. mug — a cup
  23. cold — not warm
  24. coach — a trainer

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