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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  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. race — a contest
  2. content — happy
  3. present — a gift
  4. charge — electricity
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. content — the amount
  10. drill — a practice
  11. charge — in control
  12. race — humankind
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bark — to shout
  16. press — newspapers
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. present — the time now
  19. charge — a price
  20. press — to push
  21. present — there
  22. drill — army training
  23. face — part of the head
  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