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

Word bank: mate · snap · club · race · bat · press

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bat — the animal
  6. race — the arms race
  7. club — for golf
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. press — a publisher
  11. race — a contest
  12. mate — to breed
  13. snap — to click
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — to push
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. mate — a partner
  18. race — humankind

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