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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. race — the arms race
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. press — a publisher
  9. race — a contest
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. march — the month
  16. squash — the sport
  17. current — of water
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. press — to push
  21. cold — not warm
  22. race — humankind
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — electric

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