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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. spell — letters
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. pass — a permit
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cue — for pool
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cue — a hint
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. press — to push
  15. press — a publisher
  16. clip — a video
  17. cue — a signal
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — a short time
  23. press — newspapers
  24. wake — a trail

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