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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 120 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. 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. rule — a law
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. pop — to visit
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. field — for sport
  7. press — a publisher
  8. race — a contest
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. race — the arms race
  14. field — farmland
  15. pop — music
  16. press — to push
  17. press — newspapers
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. pop — soda
  20. field — a subject
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rule — government
  23. sharp — clever
  24. 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