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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: press · current · snap · dip · wave · tube · race · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. dip — to sink
  3. tube — the underground
  4. snap — to click
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. current — of water
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — to push
  11. race — a contest
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. cold — an illness
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. race — the arms race
  17. press — a publisher
  18. current — electric
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. current — happening now
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. race — humankind
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. tube — a container

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