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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. press — to push
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — the arms race
  6. press — a publisher
  7. face — to confront
  8. bat — the animal
  9. face — to point toward
  10. hand — help
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. spell — letters
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. spell — a short time
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. press — newspapers
  18. mine — for digging
  19. face — part of the head
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. spell — magic
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. race — a contest

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