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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: nail · bass · pop · press · race · kid · wake · row

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bass — low music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — soda
  7. kid — child
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. kid — to tease
  10. press — to push
  11. pop — music
  12. press — newspapers
  13. row — to paddle
  14. race — humankind
  15. wake — a trail
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. race — a contest
  21. press — a publisher
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. row — a line
  24. bass — the fish

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