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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bulb — for light
  5. press — a publisher
  6. race — humankind
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. cue — for pool
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. cold — an illness
  13. press — newspapers
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wound — an injury
  21. press — to push
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bulb — for light

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