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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. race — the arms race
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. race — humankind
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — newspapers
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. rash — a series
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. race — a contest
  20. press — to push
  21. toast — bread
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. mine — for digging
  24. prune — to trim

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