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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — army training
  5. capital — money
  6. net — after costs
  7. club — for golf
  8. cold — an illness
  9. press — newspapers
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a cake
  13. cold — not warm
  14. press — a publisher
  15. capital — a city
  16. drill — the tool
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. net — for catching
  19. club — for dancing
  20. net — in sport
  21. club — a group
  22. roll — a list
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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