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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. race — the arms race
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. kid — child
  7. race — humankind
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. kid — to tease
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. press — newspapers
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — a division
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. march — music
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. march — the month
  21. press — to push
  22. race — a contest
  23. press — a publisher
  24. march — the month

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