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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · fine · wound · ground · pitcher · bowl · press · race

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. race — a contest
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. fine — high quality
  6. press — to push
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. fine — all right
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — crushed
  12. race — the arms race
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. press — a publisher
  16. march — the month
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wound — an injury
  19. march — the month
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. race — humankind
  22. march — music
  23. press — newspapers
  24. ground — a position

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