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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. field — a subject
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. press — newspapers
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. file — a tool
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mark — a trace
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. file — a document
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. plane — a tool
  14. field — farmland
  15. press — to push
  16. prune — to trim
  17. file — a line of people
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cold — an illness
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. press — a publisher
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a grade
  24. field — 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