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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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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: race · press · rule · field · staff · land · coach · last

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rule — government
  3. press — newspapers
  4. field — for sport
  5. land — to come down
  6. race — a contest
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. field — farmland
  13. staff — a stick
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. last — final
  16. land — ground
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law
  19. press — to push
  20. press — a publisher
  21. field — a subject
  22. staff — employees
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. land — a country

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