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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. race — a contest
  5. cold — an illness
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. cap — a hat
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cap — a lid
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. race — the arms race
  14. fork — in a road
  15. press — a publisher
  16. cap — of ice
  17. race — humankind
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. toast — bread
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. content — the amount

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