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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. swing — music
  3. pop — music
  4. last — to go on
  5. press — a publisher
  6. pop — to visit
  7. march — music
  8. swing — in golf
  9. season — of the year
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — the arms race
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. swing — to play on
  14. march — the month
  15. last — final
  16. season — in sport
  17. last — finally
  18. race — humankind
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. press — newspapers
  22. march — the month
  23. fine — all right
  24. pop — soda

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