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

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. march — music
  3. press — to push
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. swing — music
  6. race — a contest
  7. chest — of your body
  8. march — the month
  9. race — the arms race
  10. press — newspapers
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. press — a publisher
  13. chest — of your body
  14. swing — to play on
  15. march — the month
  16. chest — a box
  17. swing — in golf
  18. race — humankind

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