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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · spell · cold · foot · clip · arm · press · ruler

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cold — not warm
  5. field — farmland
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. clip — a video
  9. spell — magic
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. press — a publisher
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. clip — for paper
  14. spell — letters
  15. press — newspapers
  16. cold — an illness
  17. field — for sport
  18. press — to push
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. clip — to cut
  23. field — a subject
  24. ruler — for measuring

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