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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: patient · fork · bound · pound · press · race

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bound — tied together
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bound — certain
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fork — in a road
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. press — to push
  11. race — humankind
  12. bound — obliged
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — newspapers
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — a contest
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pound — for dogs

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