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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bank — of a river
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bank — for money
  9. cue — a signal
  10. rule — a law
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cue — for pool
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. cue — a hint
  19. press — to push
  20. rule — government
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bank — for money
  24. kid — child

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