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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. pit — in a race
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. spring — of water
  8. perch — the fish
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. press — to push
  11. stand — to bear
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. capital — a city
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. pit — a hole
  17. press — newspapers
  18. capital — money
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. spring — the season
  24. stand — for spectators

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