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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bound — certain
  4. press — to push
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. spring — of water
  8. last — finally
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. bound — tied together
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. spring — a coil
  13. craft — a skill
  14. race — the arms race
  15. press — a publisher
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. spring — the season
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. craft — boats
  22. race — a contest
  23. bound — obliged
  24. race — humankind

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