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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: race · present · hide · press · mouse · hand · cold · row

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. press — a publisher
  3. present — a gift
  4. race — a contest
  5. cold — not warm
  6. row — a line
  7. present — there
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. race — the arms race
  10. row — to paddle
  11. race — humankind
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cold — an illness
  14. present — the time now
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. hand — help
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. press — to push
  23. press — newspapers
  24. hand — in cards

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