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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. spring — of water
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. current — electric
  9. spring — the season
  10. current — happening now
  11. fine — high quality
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. bass — low music
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bass — the fish
  17. current — of water
  18. press — a publisher
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fine — all right
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fine — a penalty

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