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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. press — to push
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — a trail
  6. cold — an illness
  7. press — a publisher
  8. cue — a hint
  9. tube — a container
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. scale — size or range
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bore — to tire
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — the underground
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. scale — in music
  20. bore — to drill
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cue — a signal
  24. straw — a straw man

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