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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. net — in sport
  4. bound — certain
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. net — after costs
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — to push
  10. race — humankind
  11. bound — tied together
  12. content — happy
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — a hint
  15. perch — the fish
  16. content — the amount
  17. cue — for pool
  18. net — for catching
  19. hand — help
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bound — obliged
  22. hand — in cards
  23. press — newspapers
  24. content — videos and posts

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