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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pop — soda
  4. mate — a partner
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pop — to visit
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bank — of a river
  9. pop — music
  10. press — to push
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pitch — completely
  14. court — of law
  15. press — newspapers
  16. court — of a king
  17. race — a contest
  18. bank — for money
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. court — for sport
  21. bank — for money
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — humankind
  24. cold — not warm

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