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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: race · rest · mate · content · press · file · pitch · ground

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. ground — crushed
  4. race — a contest
  5. content — the amount
  6. mate — to breed
  7. ground — a position
  8. file — a line of people
  9. press — to push
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. ground — the earth
  14. pitch — completely
  15. file — a document
  16. rest — what's left
  17. content — happy
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mate — a friend
  20. rest — a break
  21. mate — a partner
  22. press — a publisher
  23. file — a tool
  24. press — newspapers

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