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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a ring
  4. press — to push
  5. saw — the tool
  6. game — wild animals
  7. race — the arms race
  8. saw — the tool
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. fall — to drop
  11. game — a match
  12. drill — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. roll — a list
  15. press — a publisher
  16. roll — a cake
  17. race — a contest
  18. band — a music group
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. press — newspapers
  21. drill — a practice
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. drill — army training

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