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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: leaves · cap · cold · cue · press · fall · face · snap

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — for pool
  3. face — part of the head
  4. cap — a hat
  5. face — to confront
  6. press — a publisher
  7. snap — to click
  8. cold — an illness
  9. press — to push
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cold — not warm
  13. press — newspapers
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. cap — of ice
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cue — a hint
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cap — a lid
  20. face — to point toward
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fall — the season
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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