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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 120 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: fall · field · lash · race · march · press · pass · spell

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. race — humankind
  3. pass — a permit
  4. field — farmland
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. fall — to drop
  7. race — a contest
  8. march — the month
  9. press — to push
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. spell — letters
  12. race — the arms race
  13. fall — the season
  14. march — music
  15. field — for sport
  16. spell — magic
  17. press — newspapers
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. field — a subject
  20. press — a publisher
  21. spell — a short time
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. fall — to drop

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