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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 · rule · staff · saw · content · pit · race · wind

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. race — humankind
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. content — the amount
  8. chair — a leader
  9. saw — the tool
  10. race — the arms race
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. pit — a hole
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pit — in a race
  18. staff — employees
  19. wind — moving air
  20. race — a contest
  21. staff — employees
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. staff — a stick
  24. rule — a law

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