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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. kid — child
  4. race — humankind
  5. press — newspapers
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. swing — to play on
  8. squash — to crush
  9. race — a contest
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. swing — in golf
  12. chair — a leader
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — to push
  15. kid — to tease
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. swing — music
  18. race — the arms race
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. sharp — clever
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. sharp — with an edge

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