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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. root — the cause
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. clip — to cut
  5. spring — of water
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. root — of a plant
  10. roll — a cake
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. roll — a list
  15. root — of a word
  16. press — to push
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. spring — the season
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. wake — a trail
  24. spring — a coil

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