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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. drill — the tool
  3. rest — a break
  4. race — humankind
  5. rock — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. prune — to trim
  8. swing — in golf
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. race — the arms race
  12. press — newspapers
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. rest — what's left
  15. press — to push
  16. press — a publisher
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. race — a contest
  19. rock — a stone
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. drill — army training
  22. prune — to trim
  23. drill — a practice
  24. swing — 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