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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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Word bank
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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 · mouse · race · press · object · march

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. march — the month
  4. race — a contest
  5. march — the month
  6. chair — a leader
  7. object — a thing
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. object — an aim
  12. race — humankind
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. march — music
  15. object — to protest
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. press — a publisher
  18. race — the arms race

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