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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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Word bank
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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: stick · march · roll · can · cabinet · race · press · date

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — the arms race
  5. march — music
  6. date — the fruit
  7. roll — a cake
  8. race — humankind
  9. can — to be able to
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. roll — a list
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. march — the month
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. march — the month
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. press — a publisher
  24. 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