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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. press — a publisher
  3. fork — in a road
  4. race — a contest
  5. press — newspapers
  6. rule — government
  7. file — a line of people
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. race — humankind
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rule — a law
  13. file — a document
  14. race — the arms race
  15. cell — in biology
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. capital — a city
  22. file — a tool
  23. press — to push
  24. perch — the fish

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