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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: patient · press · board · race · row · date

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  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. press — a publisher
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. date — the fruit
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. press — to push
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. row — to paddle
  10. board — a committee
  11. race — the arms race
  12. row — a line
  13. press — newspapers
  14. board — to get on
  15. race — a contest
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. date — on the calendar
  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