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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: mouse · press · racket · cold · snap · drill · season · cap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. cap — a lid
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. season — of the year
  6. drill — army training
  7. press — to push
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cold — an illness
  10. press — a publisher
  11. cold — not warm
  12. drill — the tool
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. snap — to click
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. season — in sport
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. press — newspapers
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. drill — a practice
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cap — a hat

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