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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — newspapers
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bass — low music
  9. snap — to click
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. dip — to sink
  15. press — to push
  16. bass — the fish
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. rash — a series

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