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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. race — the arms race
  3. clip — for paper
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. craft — boats
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. race — humankind
  8. march — the month
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. march — the month
  13. craft — a skill
  14. race — a contest
  15. clip — a video
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bear — the animal
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. press — to push
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. press — newspapers
  24. march — 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