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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. ball — a great time
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — to play on
  4. race — humankind
  5. swing — in golf
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bank — for money
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. date — the fruit
  12. bank — of a river
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. press — to push
  15. press — a publisher
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in biology
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bank — for money
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. race — the arms race
  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