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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 116 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bank — of a river
  4. scale — in music
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — for money
  7. row — a line
  8. press — newspapers
  9. cold — not warm
  10. charge — a price
  11. charge — in control
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. press — to push
  14. charge — electricity
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. cold — an illness
  17. kid — to tease
  18. scale — size or range
  19. row — to paddle
  20. race — a contest
  21. kid — child
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — humankind
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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