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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 116 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. race — the arms race
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. mine — for digging
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — clever
  10. press — to push
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. race — humankind
  14. track — a song
  15. last — final
  16. track — a path
  17. race — a contest
  18. track — to keep track
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. press — a publisher
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. press — newspapers

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