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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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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 · patient · band · race · press · spell · stand · court

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. band — a music group
  3. press — a publisher
  4. spell — letters
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. race — humankind
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. spell — a short time
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. race — a contest
  11. spell — magic
  12. court — for sport
  13. press — to push
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. press — newspapers
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. band — a ring
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — a weight
  24. band — a rubber band

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