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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. prune — to trim
  3. press — to push
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — a gift
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. press — newspapers
  10. kid — to tease
  11. object — an aim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. present — there
  17. chair — a leader
  18. kid — child
  19. object — a thing
  20. object — to protest
  21. press — a publisher
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. bat — for baseball

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