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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cue — a signal
  5. press — a publisher
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. net — in sport
  10. cue — a hint
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cue — for pool
  14. land — to come down
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. press — to push
  19. land — ground
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. press — newspapers
  24. land — a country

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