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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: pound · rash · cold · race · press · bulb

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. race — the arms race
  3. rash — hasty
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. press — to push
  8. rash — a series
  9. press — newspapers
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. race — humankind
  12. bulb — for light
  13. press — a publisher
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bulb — for light
  16. race — a contest
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pound — a weight

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