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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. march — music
  3. last — to go on
  4. rule — a law
  5. last — finally
  6. press — to push
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. march — the month
  11. can — a tin
  12. race — humankind
  13. last — final
  14. can — to be able to
  15. press — newspapers
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. press — a publisher
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. march — the month
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. rule — government
  24. can — a tin

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