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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 120 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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. stand — to bear
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. spring — the season
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. press — newspapers
  9. spring — a coil
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. press — a publisher
  16. deal — to handle
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. press — to push
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a line
  21. cap — a hat
  22. chair — a leader
  23. mine — for digging
  24. spring — of water

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