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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. land — to come down
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. key — the most important part
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. chair — a leader
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. chest — of your body
  15. press — a publisher
  16. deal — to handle
  17. rest — what's left
  18. press — to push
  19. rest — what's left
  20. key — for a lock
  21. rest — a break
  22. press — newspapers
  23. key — in music
  24. chair — to sit on

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