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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. press — to push
  5. press — newspapers
  6. net — after costs
  7. mine — for digging
  8. net — for catching
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. net — in sport
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. press — a publisher
  18. chair — a leader

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