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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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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: temple · press · wind · roll · race · board · shower · court

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. shower — rain
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — of law
  5. roll — a list
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. court — for sport
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. court — of a king
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. wind — moving air
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. shower — to wash
  19. press — newspapers
  20. board — a committee
  21. press — to push
  22. race — the arms race
  23. roll — a cake
  24. board — to get on

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