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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. press — newspapers
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. root — of a word
  5. field — farmland
  6. race — the arms race
  7. press — to push
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. press — a publisher
  10. root — of a plant
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. root — the cause
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. field — a subject
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — to drill
  19. race — humankind
  20. chair — a leader
  21. saw — the tool
  22. race — a contest
  23. field — for sport
  24. saw — the tool

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