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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. game — wild animals
  3. press — newspapers
  4. press — to push
  5. ground — crushed
  6. capital — a city
  7. fine — all right
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. press — a publisher
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. race — humankind
  16. game — a match
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. file — a tool
  19. race — a contest
  20. rush — hurry
  21. fine — high quality
  22. race — the arms race
  23. capital — money
  24. ground — the earth

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