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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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Word bank
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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. season — in sport
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. kid — to tease
  5. mine — for digging
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. race — the arms race
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. season — of the year
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. race — a contest
  14. chip — to eat
  15. kid — child
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fork — in a road
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. race — humankind
  21. press — a publisher
  22. chip — for betting
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. wound — an injury

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