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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 120 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. pound — a weight
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. cell — a phone
  9. land — a country
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — in a race
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rule — government
  14. race — the arms race
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. race — humankind
  18. rule — a law
  19. press — newspapers
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. press — to push
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. race — a contest

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