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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. rash — hasty
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — the arms race
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. clip — for paper
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. season — of the year
  9. press — a publisher
  10. fall — to drop
  11. season — in sport
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. rash — a series
  15. race — humankind
  16. clip — a video
  17. last — finally
  18. sharp — clever
  19. clip — to cut
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. last — final

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