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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cell — in biology
  3. pit — in a race
  4. board — a committee
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. craft — boats
  11. press — to push
  12. press — newspapers
  13. clip — a video
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rash — hasty
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. board — to get on
  18. press — a publisher
  19. rash — a series
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. pit — a hole
  24. craft — a skill

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