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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 124 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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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. foot — the bottom
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. race — humankind
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. press — newspapers
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. press — a publisher
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. race — a contest
  13. foot — a measure
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cold — an illness
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. kick — in football
  20. prune — to trim
  21. race — the arms race
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. kick — with a leg

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