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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stock — goods
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. last — final
  8. mate — a partner
  9. can — a tin
  10. press — to push
  11. last — finally
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. can — a tin
  15. race — a contest
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. stock — shares
  18. race — humankind
  19. spell — a short time
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. last — to go on
  22. mate — to breed
  23. can — to be able to
  24. race — the arms race

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