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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. press — to push
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. press — newspapers
  5. court — of a king
  6. cold — not warm
  7. present — there
  8. spell — a short time
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cold — an illness
  12. spell — letters
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. march — the month
  15. spell — magic
  16. press — a publisher
  17. march — the month
  18. game — a match
  19. court — of law
  20. present — the time now
  21. march — music
  22. present — a gift
  23. game — wild animals
  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