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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: chair · press · straw · rule · stick · tube · race · content

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. rule — a law
  3. race — a contest
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. chair — a leader
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. press — newspapers
  12. tube — the underground
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. rule — government
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. content — the amount
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. content — happy
  21. press — to push
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. tube — a container
  24. press — a publisher

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