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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: wound · scale · press · tear · dip · plane · wake · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. dip — to sink
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. scale — in music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. press — newspapers
  8. press — to push
  9. tear — from crying
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cold — not warm
  12. tear — from crying
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. press — a publisher
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. tear — to rip
  18. scale — size or range
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. plane — a tool
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. wake — a trail

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