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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 120 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: pop · press · tear · present · race · cold · mate · deal

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. race — humankind
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mate — a partner
  6. present — a gift
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mate — a friend
  11. deal — to handle
  12. pop — soda
  13. present — there
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. press — to push
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cold — not warm
  22. present — the time now
  23. pop — music
  24. press — a publisher

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