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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. march — the month
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. march — music
  5. clip — to cut
  6. march — the month
  7. race — the arms race
  8. press — newspapers
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. race — a contest
  12. clip — for paper
  13. sharp — clever
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. band — a ring
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. clip — a video
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a music group
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. press — to push
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. press — a publisher

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