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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. press — a publisher
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. race — the arms race
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. cap — a hat
  14. race — humankind
  15. press — to push
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. lie — to recline
  18. press — newspapers
  19. cap — a lid
  20. degree — an amount
  21. staff — employees
  22. cap — of ice
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. cold — the Cold War

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