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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. wake — a trail
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. ball — a dance
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. press — newspapers
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. net — after costs
  13. press — to push
  14. mine — for digging
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. press — a publisher
  17. net — for catching
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chair — a leader
  20. net — in sport
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. ball — a round shape

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