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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wind — moving air
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. ground — crushed
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. press — to push
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. ground — a position
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. press — a publisher
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. race — the arms race
  17. press — newspapers
  18. craft — boats
  19. race — humankind
  20. lie — to recline
  21. race — a contest
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. craft — a skill

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