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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. spell — a short time
  3. sharp — clever
  4. firm — a company
  5. press — a publisher
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cold — not warm
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. cold — an illness
  10. spell — magic
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. press — newspapers
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. race — a contest
  18. firm — steady
  19. mine — for digging
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. spell — letters
  22. press — to push
  23. firm — decided
  24. mine — belonging to me

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