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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. spell — letters
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. press — to push
  6. pit — a hole
  7. last — final
  8. race — the arms race
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. spell — a short time
  11. fall — to drop
  12. press — newspapers
  13. race — a contest
  14. last — finally
  15. capital — money
  16. spell — magic
  17. pit — in a race
  18. race — humankind
  19. capital — a city
  20. press — a publisher
  21. fall — to drop
  22. last — to go on
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. fall — the season

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