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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. foot — part of the body
  3. press — to push
  4. last — finally
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. press — a publisher
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. race — the arms race
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. press — newspapers
  13. race — humankind
  14. cold — an illness
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. foot — a measure
  17. race — a contest
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. perch — the fish
  22. field — farmland
  23. cold — not warm
  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