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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. press — newspapers
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. press — a publisher
  5. content — the amount
  6. press — to push
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. rest — a break
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rest — what's left
  14. roll — a cake
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rock — music
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. rest — what's left
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. mine — for digging
  24. roll — a list

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