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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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Word bank
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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: race · wound · firm · land · pop · chair · bark · press

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. chair — a leader
  3. press — newspapers
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. firm — a company
  6. race — the arms race
  7. firm — decided
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. pop — to visit
  12. firm — steady
  13. press — a publisher
  14. pop — music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. race — a contest
  18. press — to push
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. land — a country
  21. race — humankind
  22. bark — to shout
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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