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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. race — humankind
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cap — a hat
  14. race — the arms race
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cell — in biology
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. cold — an illness
  19. race — a contest
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. prune — to trim
  24. press — to push

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