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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cold — an illness
  4. race — humankind
  5. cold — not warm
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stand — to bear
  10. press — a publisher
  11. tear — to rip
  12. snap — to click
  13. race — a contest
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — the arms race
  18. press — newspapers
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pop — soda
  21. press — to push
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. vault — a safe
  24. pop — music

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