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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pitch — completely
  4. ground — a position
  5. last — final
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. race — a contest
  8. ground — crushed
  9. race — humankind
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. toast — bread
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. press — newspapers
  17. field — farmland
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. race — the arms race
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. press — to push
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. ground — the earth

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