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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. swing — in golf
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. press — a publisher
  10. board — a committee
  11. press — newspapers
  12. mate — a partner
  13. swing — music
  14. press — to push
  15. ball — a dance
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. swing — to play on
  21. chair — a leader
  22. mate — to breed
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. board — to get 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