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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: present · press · fine · straw · march · charge · race · wind

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. race — the arms race
  3. press — a publisher
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. charge — a price
  7. charge — electricity
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. race — a contest
  10. present — the time now
  11. march — the month
  12. charge — in control
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. press — newspapers
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wind — moving air
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. present — there
  21. press — to push
  22. wind — moving air
  23. race — humankind
  24. present — a gift

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