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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. shower — to wash
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. press — a publisher
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. pop — soda
  8. scale — in music
  9. press — to push
  10. pop — music
  11. present — there
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. present — the time now
  15. race — the arms race
  16. present — a gift
  17. row — a line
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. scale — size or range
  20. shower — rain
  21. race — humankind
  22. press — newspapers
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. pop — to visit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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