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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. press — a publisher
  3. present — a gift
  4. foot — a measure
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. last — to go on
  7. present — there
  8. press — newspapers
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. last — final
  11. race — humankind
  12. last — finally
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. press — to push
  16. bass — the fish
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. race — a contest
  19. rush — hurry
  20. race — the arms race
  21. present — the time now
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. bass — the instrument

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