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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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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: tear · craft · cell · content · rule · race · pitch · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. content — the amount
  4. race — a contest
  5. pitch — completely
  6. craft — a skill
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rule — a law
  11. race — humankind
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rule — government
  19. press — newspapers
  20. craft — boats
  21. content — happy
  22. cell — in biology
  23. press — a publisher
  24. craft — a handicraft

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