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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: spring · rest · squash · wind · cell · press · race · board

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. rest — what's left
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. board — to get on
  6. rest — what's left
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. squash — the sport
  11. spring — the season
  12. rest — a break
  13. cell — a phone
  14. press — a publisher
  15. cell — in biology
  16. press — to push
  17. race — a contest
  18. spring — of water
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. spring — a coil
  24. press — newspapers

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