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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. object — to protest
  3. press — to push
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lean — to bend
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. press — newspapers
  8. press — a publisher
  9. object — an aim
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. race — a contest
  14. stock — goods
  15. race — humankind
  16. land — ground
  17. race — the arms race
  18. land — to come down
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. object — a thing
  21. stock — shares
  22. land — a country
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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