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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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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: ball · firm · press · race · root · shower · clip · roll

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. firm — a company
  3. ball — a great time
  4. press — to push
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. roll — a cake
  9. root — of a word
  10. shower — rain
  11. race — the arms race
  12. firm — decided
  13. press — a publisher
  14. shower — to wash
  15. ball — a dance
  16. race — a contest
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. firm — steady
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. root — the cause
  22. roll — a list
  23. root — of a plant
  24. press — newspapers

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