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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cap — of ice
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. game — wild animals
  7. race — a contest
  8. press — to push
  9. race — the arms race
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cap — a hat
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. press — newspapers
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cell — in biology
  16. race — humankind
  17. press — a publisher
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. game — a match
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cap — a lid

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