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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. race — a contest
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chest — a box
  5. deal — to handle
  6. field — a subject
  7. race — humankind
  8. press — a publisher
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. rest — what's left
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rest — a break
  15. press — to push
  16. chest — of your body
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. chest — of your body
  20. race — the arms race
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. pitcher — a jug

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