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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 124 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. press — a publisher
  3. race — humankind
  4. track — a song
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. field — for sport
  7. track — a path
  8. track — to keep track
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — music
  12. field — farmland
  13. game — wild animals
  14. field — a subject
  15. press — newspapers
  16. fall — the season
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a lid
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fall — to drop
  23. press — to push
  24. game — a match

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