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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 120 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. spring — of water
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. spring — a coil
  5. press — a publisher
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. race — a contest
  8. spring — the season
  9. squash — the sport
  10. press — to push
  11. foot — a measure
  12. tear — from crying
  13. vault — a safe
  14. press — newspapers
  15. squash — to crush
  16. race — humankind
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. cell — a phone
  20. tear — from crying
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. cell — in biology
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cell — in a prison

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