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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: race · board · press · shower · season · mark · staff · wind

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. board — a committee
  3. staff — a stick
  4. mark — a grade
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. race — the arms race
  9. mark — a trace
  10. board — to get on
  11. press — a publisher
  12. wind — moving air
  13. season — in sport
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. shower — rain
  16. wind — moving air
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. staff — employees
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. season — of the year
  21. staff — employees
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — to push
  24. shower — to wash

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