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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. present — the time now
  2. saw — the tool
  3. shower — to wash
  4. race — the arms race
  5. chair — a leader
  6. present — a gift
  7. game — a match
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. shower — rain
  13. saw — the tool
  14. press — to push
  15. race — humankind
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. race — a contest
  18. press — a publisher
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. present — there
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. game — wild animals
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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