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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: sharp · press · pass · land · last · race · squash · plane

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. last — final
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — to push
  5. land — to come down
  6. last — to go on
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. squash — the sport
  9. race — a contest
  10. plane — a tool
  11. squash — to crush
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. race — humankind
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. land — ground
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. race — the arms race
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. last — finally
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. sharp — clever

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