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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. charge — in control
  3. press — newspapers
  4. cold — an illness
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. press — to push
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. spell — letters
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mine — for digging
  11. charge — a price
  12. dip — to sink
  13. charge — electricity
  14. spell — a short time
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. spell — magic
  18. wound — an injury
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. press — a publisher
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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