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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. content — the amount
  3. fall — the season
  4. cell — a phone
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. content — happy
  7. fall — to drop
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. press — newspapers
  10. sharp — clever
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cell — in biology
  14. race — humankind
  15. fall — to drop
  16. chest — a box
  17. press — to push
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. chest — of your body
  20. press — a publisher
  21. game — a match
  22. race — a contest
  23. game — wild animals
  24. cell — in a prison

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