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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  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. wake — a trail
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. race — humankind
  4. band — a ring
  5. march — the month
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. race — the arms race
  9. degree — from a university
  10. march — music
  11. degree — an amount
  12. root — of a word
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. degree — temperature
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. root — of a plant
  18. press — newspapers
  19. band — a music group
  20. march — the month
  21. root — the cause
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — to push
  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