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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: race · content · cell · chair · bowl · tear · press · jam

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chair — a leader
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cell — in biology
  7. tear — from crying
  8. content — the amount
  9. press — to push
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. race — a contest
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. tear — from crying
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. cell — a phone
  19. race — humankind
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. content — happy
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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