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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. press — newspapers
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. race — humankind
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — a contest
  9. kid — child
  10. press — a publisher
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. last — final
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pitch — completely
  19. track — a song
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. track — to keep track
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. track — a path
  24. hide — to keep secret

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