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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 · press · prune · tear · rule · rock · face · foot

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. 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. press — to push
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. foot — a measure
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rule — government
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — a stone
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. tear — from crying
  12. press — newspapers
  13. rule — a law
  14. race — humankind
  15. tear — from crying
  16. press — a publisher
  17. prune — to trim
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. face — part of the head
  20. rock — music
  21. face — to confront
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. face — to point toward
  24. 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