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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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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: bear · straw · spring · bay · press · race · band · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. spring — a coil
  6. race — the arms race
  7. press — to push
  8. spring — of water
  9. band — a music group
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. press — a publisher
  12. firm — decided
  13. spring — the season
  14. bear — the animal
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — humankind
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. band — a ring
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. firm — a company
  24. press — newspapers

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