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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. ground — a position
  4. race — the arms race
  5. press — to push
  6. ground — the earth
  7. prune — to trim
  8. kick — in football
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. file — a document
  13. race — humankind
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. race — a contest
  20. mine — for digging
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — newspapers
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. ground — crushed

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