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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 120 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: pop · stem · bound · file · press · cold · cap · race

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bound — certain
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. file — a tool
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bound — tied together
  9. file — a line of people
  10. race — humankind
  11. pop — music
  12. bound — obliged
  13. press — newspapers
  14. stem — to come from
  15. race — a contest
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. press — to push
  19. race — the arms race
  20. cold — not warm
  21. file — a document
  22. pop — soda
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cap — a hat

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