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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: cell · race · press · bear · hide · firm

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. firm — steady
  3. cell — a phone
  4. race — a contest
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. race — the arms race
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. firm — a company
  13. press — to push
  14. press — a publisher
  15. firm — decided
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cell — in biology
  18. race — humankind

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