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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. race — humankind
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tube — a container
  5. wound — an injury
  6. race — the arms race
  7. press — to push
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bass — the fish
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. chest — a box
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. deal — to handle
  20. tube — the underground
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bass — low music
  24. race — a contest

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