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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: bay · press · kick · root · cold · race

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. root — of a word
  4. race — a contest
  5. cold — an illness
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. root — the cause
  11. press — to push
  12. kick — in football
  13. press — a publisher
  14. race — humankind
  15. cold — not warm
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. race — the arms race

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