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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pop — soda
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pop — music
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pop — to visit
  14. press — newspapers
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. press — to push
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. press — a publisher
  24. dip — to sink

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