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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. net — in sport
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. race — the arms race
  5. last — to go on
  6. content — happy
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. board — a committee
  9. press — a publisher
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. last — final
  13. snap — to click
  14. board — to get on
  15. content — the amount
  16. net — for catching
  17. last — finally
  18. race — humankind
  19. press — newspapers
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. net — after costs
  23. press — to push
  24. stem — to come from

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