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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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468
Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to click
  5. march — the month
  6. chair — a leader
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. rest — what's left
  11. march — music
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. rest — what's left
  16. press — a publisher
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. march — the month
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. rest — a break
  21. dip — to sink
  22. press — newspapers
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — a monarch

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