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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: press · race · ruler · season · present · chest

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — humankind
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. chest — of your body
  7. present — there
  8. chest — a box
  9. press — to push
  10. chest — of your body
  11. present — a gift
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. press — newspapers
  14. present — the time now
  15. season — of the year
  16. press — a publisher
  17. season — in sport
  18. ruler — for measuring

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