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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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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: press · track · mine · race · firm · tear

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. press — a publisher
  3. track — to keep track
  4. race — a contest
  5. press — to push
  6. race — humankind
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mine — for digging
  10. tear — from crying
  11. track — a song
  12. press — newspapers
  13. firm — steady
  14. track — a path
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. firm — decided
  17. race — the arms race
  18. firm — a company

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