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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — to push
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. mug — to rob
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cold — not warm
  10. deal — to handle
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. mug — a cup
  14. bark — to shout
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. chip — for betting
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. mug — a face
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. chip — to eat
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. press — newspapers
  24. deal — a big deal

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