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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 116 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: racket · press · chair · spring · fall · drill · saw · race

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. spring — a coil
  3. press — a publisher
  4. spring — the season
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. press — to push
  8. drill — army training
  9. race — humankind
  10. fall — to drop
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. race — a contest
  14. chair — a leader
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fall — to drop
  17. spring — of water
  18. drill — the tool
  19. fall — the season
  20. press — newspapers
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. drill — a practice
  23. saw — the tool
  24. chair — to sit on

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