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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: cap · race · bound · press · chair · hide · land · root

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. root — of a plant
  4. bound — certain
  5. race — humankind
  6. press — a publisher
  7. chair — a leader
  8. root — the cause
  9. land — a country
  10. root — of a word
  11. land — ground
  12. cap — a lid
  13. press — to push
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cap — a hat
  16. press — newspapers
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. land — to come down
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. cap — of ice
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bound — tied together

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