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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. game — a match
  3. bound — obliged
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bound — tied together
  7. race — humankind
  8. can — a tin
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. spring — the season
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. press — a publisher
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bound — certain
  17. spring — of water
  18. bat — the animal
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — to be able to
  24. spring — a coil

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