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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. can — a tin
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. press — a publisher
  4. prune — to trim
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. race — the arms race
  7. press — to push
  8. race — a contest
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. can — a tin
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — not warm
  18. can — to be able to
  19. pound — a weight
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cold — an illness
  22. deal — to handle
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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