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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 116 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: file · cold · craft · pound · field · present · press · race

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. file — a line of people
  4. pound — a weight
  5. present — there
  6. race — the arms race
  7. file — a document
  8. craft — boats
  9. cold — not warm
  10. present — a gift
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. race — humankind
  13. press — newspapers
  14. present — the time now
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. race — a contest
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. craft — a skill
  21. field — farmland
  22. press — a publisher
  23. file — a tool
  24. press — to push

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