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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. rash — a series
  5. press — to push
  6. branch — a division
  7. last — to go on
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. last — finally
  10. race — humankind
  11. rash — hasty
  12. last — final
  13. press — newspapers
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. fork — in a road
  17. pound — a weight
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. race — a contest
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. race — the arms race

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