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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. saw — the tool
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. present — the time now
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. press — to push
  8. deal — to handle
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rest — what's left
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. press — a publisher
  13. present — a gift
  14. cold — an illness
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. press — newspapers
  17. ball — a great time
  18. saw — the tool
  19. ball — a dance
  20. rest — a break
  21. present — there
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rest — what's left

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