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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: press · deal · pop · rule · cap · field · race · file

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pop — soda
  3. race — a contest
  4. pop — music
  5. cap — of ice
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. press — newspapers
  8. rule — government
  9. file — a document
  10. field — farmland
  11. rule — a law
  12. pop — to visit
  13. press — to push
  14. cap — a hat
  15. press — a publisher
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. file — a tool
  21. cap — a lid
  22. field — a subject
  23. file — a line of people
  24. deal — to handle

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