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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — newspapers
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. current — happening now
  5. cue — a hint
  6. spring — a coil
  7. press — to push
  8. current — of water
  9. snap — to click
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cue — a signal
  12. race — a contest
  13. chair — a leader
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. race — humankind
  16. cue — for pool
  17. race — the arms race
  18. spring — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. wound — an injury
  21. spring — the season
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. chair — a professorship

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