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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. press — to push
  3. press — a publisher
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. stock — shares
  8. last — to go on
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. press — newspapers
  15. cold — an illness
  16. race — a contest
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. race — the arms race
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. cold — not warm

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