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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. field — farmland
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. field — a subject
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. sharp — clever
  11. race — the arms race
  12. saw — the tool
  13. press — to push
  14. press — newspapers
  15. field — for sport
  16. cell — in biology
  17. race — a contest
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cell — a phone
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pass — a permit
  23. press — a publisher
  24. sharp — with an edge

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