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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. game — wild animals
  5. snap — to click
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. chair — a leader
  9. object — an aim
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. capital — money
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. charge — in control
  16. object — a thing
  17. charge — a price
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — a match
  20. capital — a city
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. charge — electricity
  24. press — to push

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