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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. land — ground
  3. race — humankind
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cue — a signal
  7. prune — to trim
  8. row — to paddle
  9. race — a contest
  10. press — to push
  11. wind — moving air
  12. prune — to trim
  13. press — newspapers
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cue — a hint
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. land — to come down
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. land — a country
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. row — a line

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