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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. content — happy
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wind — moving air
  7. content — the amount
  8. net — in sport
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — to push
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. net — after costs
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. drill — army training
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. press — a publisher
  21. drill — the tool
  22. hand — help
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bear — the animal

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