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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 ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. press — to push
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cold — not warm
  9. court — of law
  10. capital — a city
  11. ball — a dance
  12. cold — an illness
  13. saw — the tool
  14. roll — a list
  15. court — of a king
  16. press — newspapers
  17. capital — money
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. saw — the tool
  21. roll — a cake
  22. press — a publisher
  23. wake — a trail
  24. court — for sport

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