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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. last — final
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. mine — for digging
  8. last — to go on
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — newspapers
  15. game — wild animals
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. last — finally
  18. game — a match
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. press — to push

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