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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 116 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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. field — farmland
  5. race — the arms race
  6. field — a subject
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. field — for sport
  9. clip — a video
  10. race — humankind
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. press — to push
  14. staff — employees
  15. chair — a leader
  16. sharp — clever
  17. staff — a stick
  18. clip — for paper
  19. press — newspapers
  20. race — a contest
  21. staff — employees
  22. clip — to cut
  23. press — a publisher
  24. chair — a professorship

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