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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. current — of water
  3. land — to come down
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. current — happening now
  12. land — a country
  13. current — electric
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. press — to push
  19. land — ground
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. press — newspapers
  24. snap — to click

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