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

Word bank: fall · foot · cap · rest · cold · prune · swing · press

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fall — the season
  6. cold — not warm
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — music
  9. rest — what's left
  10. press — a publisher
  11. cap — a lid
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cap — a hat
  15. rest — a break
  16. foot — a measure
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. swing — in golf
  19. press — to push
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cap — of ice
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rest — what's left

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