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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. lean — thin
  3. field — for sport
  4. press — newspapers
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. race — a contest
  10. sharp — clever
  11. press — a publisher
  12. game — a match
  13. press — to push
  14. game — wild animals
  15. race — humankind
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — to bear
  18. race — the arms race
  19. field — a subject
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. field — farmland
  24. squash — to crush

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