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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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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: press · perch · race · band · spell · chip · fine · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. spell — magic
  3. perch — the fish
  4. fine — all right
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — letters
  10. band — a music group
  11. chip — for betting
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. race — humankind
  14. press — to push
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — newspapers
  17. band — a ring
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. race — a contest
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. race — the arms race
  22. chip — to eat
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. fine — high quality

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