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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. staff — employees
  3. press — to push
  4. track — to keep track
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. press — a publisher
  8. track — a path
  9. spring — a coil
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. race — a contest
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. race — humankind
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. spring — of water
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. track — a song
  18. game — a match
  19. spring — the season
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. row — a line
  22. race — the arms race
  23. row — to paddle
  24. game — wild animals

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