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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: arm · press · race · ground · object · tear

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. race — a contest
  3. object — to protest
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. object — a thing
  9. press — newspapers
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. press — to push
  14. object — an aim
  15. race — the arms race
  16. ground — the earth
  17. race — humankind
  18. tear — from crying

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