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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. race — humankind
  3. press — to push
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. present — a gift
  7. net — for catching
  8. prune — to trim
  9. season — in sport
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. race — a contest
  13. prune — to trim
  14. race — the arms race
  15. press — newspapers
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. present — the time now
  19. net — after costs
  20. chest — of your body
  21. net — in sport
  22. press — a publisher
  23. present — there
  24. ruler — for measuring

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