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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: cold · ground · press · arm · firm · game · lean · track

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. ground — a position
  3. track — to keep track
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. game — wild animals
  8. firm — a company
  9. cold — not warm
  10. press — to push
  11. track — a path
  12. track — a song
  13. press — newspapers
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. press — a publisher
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. ground — crushed
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. lean — to bend
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cold — an illness
  23. firm — decided
  24. game — a match

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