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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. snap — to click
  3. rest — a break
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. fine — all right
  9. hand — help
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — to push
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. hand — in cards
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. scale — in music
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fine — high quality
  23. rush — hurry
  24. hand — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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