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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · press · cell · wake · present · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. 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. present — the time now
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. press — newspapers
  7. present — a gift
  8. press — a publisher
  9. race — humankind
  10. press — to push
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. present — there
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — a trail
  17. prune — to trim
  18. 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