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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  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. mark — a grade
  2. band — a ring
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. band — a music group
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. last — final
  9. press — to push
  10. press — a publisher
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. cold — not warm
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. last — to go on
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. last — finally
  20. press — newspapers
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. mark — a trace
  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