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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · race · arm · press · mine · mouse · stock · rush

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. press — a publisher
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. race — humankind
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rush — hurry
  12. race — the arms race
  13. stock — goods
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. press — to push
  23. press — newspapers
  24. race — a contest

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