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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: chair · ruler · hide · press · bound · race

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. 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. bound — tied together
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. race — humankind
  4. bound — certain
  5. chair — a leader
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. race — a contest
  12. press — to push
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bound — obliged
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. race — the arms race
  18. 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