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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: press · cold · foot · march · race · bulb · cell · ball

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cold — not warm
  5. press — to push
  6. bulb — for light
  7. press — newspapers
  8. march — the month
  9. foot — a measure
  10. race — a contest
  11. march — music
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. race — humankind
  17. ball — a great time
  18. march — the month
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. press — a publisher
  21. ball — a dance
  22. cell — a phone
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bulb — for light

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