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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 · hide · rule · last · race · stand

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. race — the arms race
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. last — finally
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. last — to go on
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. rule — a law
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. rule — government
  18. hide — to keep secret

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