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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: press · band · wake · pitch · cold · face · wound · present

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. present — there
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — completely
  8. face — to point toward
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cold — an illness
  11. face — to confront
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. press — a publisher
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wake — a trail
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — a gift
  21. press — to push
  22. face — part of the head
  23. press — newspapers
  24. wound — an injury

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