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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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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: wind · mark · arm · press · plane · mate · cold · track

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. track — a song
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wind — moving air
  6. press — newspapers
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mark — a trace
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mate — a friend
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. press — a publisher
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. press — to push
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. track — a path
  21. track — to keep track
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wind — to turn a key

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