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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cold — an illness
  4. race — a contest
  5. mug — to rob
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cap — of ice
  8. press — a publisher
  9. file — a document
  10. lean — to bend
  11. press — newspapers
  12. race — the arms race
  13. press — to push
  14. cap — a hat
  15. chest — a box
  16. mug — a face
  17. race — humankind
  18. lean — thin
  19. chest — of your body
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cap — a lid
  23. mug — a cup
  24. file — a tool

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