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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. plane — an aircraft
  2. press — to push
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. ground — the earth
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. ground — crushed
  14. press — a publisher
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cell — a phone
  17. plane — a tool
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a ring
  20. ground — a position
  21. deal — to handle
  22. press — newspapers
  23. cold — not warm
  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