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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 · race · rule · deal · field · mug · press · band

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a ring
  7. race — the arms race
  8. press — a publisher
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. deal — to handle
  11. mug — to rob
  12. race — humankind
  13. band — a music group
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. press — newspapers
  16. race — a contest
  17. press — to push
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. mug — a cup
  20. field — for sport
  21. chair — a leader
  22. mug — a face
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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