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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. press — to push
  5. press — a publisher
  6. ground — the earth
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. press — newspapers
  10. season — of the year
  11. chair — a leader
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. fork — in a road
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. season — in sport
  18. fall — to drop
  19. ground — a position
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a hole
  23. ground — crushed
  24. cold — not warm

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