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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. capital — money
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. last — final
  7. press — newspapers
  8. rock — a stone
  9. wind — moving air
  10. last — finally
  11. press — a publisher
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. kid — child
  14. press — to push
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. last — to go on
  20. capital — a city
  21. rock — music
  22. race — humankind
  23. rash — hasty
  24. capital — a big letter

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