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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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468
Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. race — the arms race
  3. band — a ring
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. perch — the fish
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. press — a publisher
  9. rock — music
  10. press — newspapers
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fork — in a road
  14. race — humankind
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. race — a contest
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. cell — in biology
  19. band — a music group
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rock — a stone
  24. perch — for a bird

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