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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 116 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. last — to go on
  3. cue — for pool
  4. ground — a position
  5. race — humankind
  6. squash — to crush
  7. last — final
  8. press — a publisher
  9. file — a line of people
  10. last — finally
  11. race — a contest
  12. press — newspapers
  13. file — a document
  14. field — a subject
  15. file — a tool
  16. field — for sport
  17. cue — a signal
  18. squash — the sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. press — to push
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cue — a hint
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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