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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. race — humankind
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — newspapers
  5. cold — not warm
  6. craft — a skill
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — the arms race
  9. tear — from crying
  10. craft — boats
  11. tear — to rip
  12. key — in music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. cold — an illness
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. vault — a safe
  17. key — for a lock
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. race — a contest
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. press — to push

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