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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: stand · band · pop · rule · fork · patient · press · chair

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. pop — music
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. chair — a leader
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. pop — soda
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. band — a music group
  15. press — newspapers
  16. rule — government
  17. press — to push
  18. pop — to visit
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. press — a publisher
  21. rule — a law
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. stand — to bear
  24. band — a rubber band

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