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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: tube · press · mate · mark · cold · last · cabinet · ground

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. ground — a position
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — a container
  6. mate — to breed
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — final
  10. mark — a grade
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ground — the earth
  13. tube — the underground
  14. mate — a friend
  15. press — to push
  16. last — finally
  17. mate — a partner
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mark — a trace
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. ground — crushed
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — newspapers

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