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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. press — a publisher
  4. race — the arms race
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mine — for digging
  8. race — a contest
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. race — humankind
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. rule — government
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. rule — a law
  16. press — to push
  17. prune — to trim
  18. game — wild animals
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. press — newspapers
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. game — a match
  24. branch — a division

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