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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. press — newspapers
  3. bat — the animal
  4. band — a music group
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. last — to go on
  7. press — to push
  8. race — the arms race
  9. press — a publisher
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. row — to paddle
  12. race — humankind
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. last — final
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. row — a line
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. last — finally
  22. band — a ring
  23. race — a contest
  24. game — wild animals

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