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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: game · race · perch · lean · press · nail · ground · roll

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. press — to push
  4. race — humankind
  5. press — a publisher
  6. ground — the earth
  7. lean — to bend
  8. roll — a cake
  9. perch — the fish
  10. ground — crushed
  11. lean — thin
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. game — a match
  16. race — the arms race
  17. roll — a list
  18. game — wild animals
  19. press — newspapers
  20. ground — a position
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. game — a kind of play

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