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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: race · swing · fine · club · last · press

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. press — a publisher
  3. last — finally
  4. race — the arms race
  5. last — final
  6. fine — high quality
  7. club — for golf
  8. swing — in golf
  9. race — humankind
  10. press — newspapers
  11. swing — to play on
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for dancing
  14. fine — all right
  15. swing — music
  16. race — a contest
  17. last — to go on
  18. press — to push

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