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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. race — humankind
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. rest — what's left
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mate — a partner
  7. race — a contest
  8. mate — a friend
  9. perch — the fish
  10. press — a publisher
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. rest — a break
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. content — happy
  16. race — the arms race
  17. content — the amount
  18. press — to push
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. craft — a skill
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — boats
  24. press — newspapers

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