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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: present · press · race · pound · cold · stand · roll · temple

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. present — a gift
  4. cold — not warm
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cold — an illness
  7. press — to push
  8. pound — a weight
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. press — a publisher
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. press — newspapers
  17. stand — to bear
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. roll — a cake
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. present — there
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. race — humankind
  24. temple — side of the head

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