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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: saw · press · snap · cold · calf · cue · field · ball

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. cue — a hint
  3. press — to push
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cue — a signal
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cold — an illness
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. press — a publisher
  14. ball — a great time
  15. press — newspapers
  16. field — a subject
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. field — for sport
  19. cue — for pool
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. field — farmland
  22. cold — not warm
  23. snap — to click
  24. ball — a dance

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