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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 120 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: club · rest · press · bound · cap · chair · land · race

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cap — a hat
  3. land — ground
  4. cap — of ice
  5. club — a group
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. race — the arms race
  8. club — for golf
  9. race — a contest
  10. land — to come down
  11. club — for dancing
  12. race — humankind
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bound — obliged
  15. rest — what's left
  16. land — a country
  17. bound — tied together
  18. rest — what's left
  19. press — to push
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bound — certain
  23. rest — a break
  24. chair — a leader

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