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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 116 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: race · press · stock · object · cold · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. object — an aim
  3. race — the arms race
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. press — to push
  6. stock — goods
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. press — newspapers
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. object — to protest
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cold — not warm
  14. object — a thing
  15. press — a publisher
  16. cold — an illness
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest

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