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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bat — the animal
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. press — to push
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. bound — tied together
  13. lean — to bend
  14. press — a publisher
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bound — certain
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. press — newspapers
  20. scale — in music
  21. saw — the tool
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. lean — thin

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