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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — to keep track
  3. race — humankind
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. last — to go on
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. press — a publisher
  8. last — final
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. race — a contest
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. race — the arms race
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. track — a path
  15. press — newspapers
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. last — finally
  18. press — to push

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