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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. press — a publisher
  4. current — of water
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. current — happening now
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. date — the fruit
  12. pop — music
  13. race — a contest
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. current — electric
  16. race — humankind
  17. branch — a division
  18. pop — to visit
  19. press — to push
  20. press — newspapers
  21. foot — a measure
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pop — soda
  24. cold — not warm

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