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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 116 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. race — a contest
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a song
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. race — humankind
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. content — happy
  11. cap — a hat
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. press — newspapers
  15. cap — of ice
  16. press — a publisher
  17. track — a path
  18. content — the amount
  19. race — the arms race
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cap — a lid
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. press — to push

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