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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. march — music
  3. swing — music
  4. press — newspapers
  5. race — humankind
  6. march — the month
  7. press — to push
  8. last — final
  9. plane — a tool
  10. race — a contest
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. press — a publisher
  14. swing — in golf
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. season — of the year
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. march — the month
  20. season — in sport
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. swing — to play on
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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