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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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Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. key — for a lock
  3. stock — goods
  4. rest — what's left
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cue — for pool
  7. rest — a break
  8. march — music
  9. race — a contest
  10. march — the month
  11. stock — shares
  12. race — the arms race
  13. rest — what's left
  14. press — newspapers
  15. degree — an amount
  16. race — humankind
  17. cue — a hint
  18. march — the month
  19. key — the most important part
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cue — a signal
  23. degree — temperature
  24. key — in music

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