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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: firm · wind · land · temple · rule · press · chair · cap

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. press — to push
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. land — ground
  6. cap — a hat
  7. firm — steady
  8. chair — a leader
  9. land — to come down
  10. wind — moving air
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. rule — government
  13. cap — of ice
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cap — a lid
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — newspapers
  18. firm — decided
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. land — a country
  24. firm — a company

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