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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: press · race · bound · pass · trunk · spring · scale · arm

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — the season
  4. press — to push
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. bound — tied together
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. pass — a permit
  12. race — humankind
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. press — a publisher
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bound — certain
  20. spring — of water
  21. race — the arms race
  22. scale — size or range
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bound — obliged

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