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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. race — a contest
  4. degree — temperature
  5. net — in sport
  6. degree — from a university
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — for catching
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. shower — rain
  14. file — a line of people
  15. race — the arms race
  16. band — a ring
  17. shower — to wash
  18. degree — an amount
  19. press — newspapers
  20. band — a music group
  21. file — a tool
  22. press — to push
  23. file — a document
  24. press — a publisher

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