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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: scale · bear · cold · press · race · land · patient · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. land — to come down
  4. bear — the animal
  5. scale — size or range
  6. press — to push
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. press — a publisher
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. race — a contest
  11. press — newspapers
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. scale — in music
  14. board — a committee
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. race — humankind
  17. land — a country
  18. board — to get on
  19. land — ground
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cold — not warm

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