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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. season — in sport
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. last — finally
  9. cell — in biology
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. press — a publisher
  12. drill — the tool
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. season — of the year
  15. last — final
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — to push
  18. mine — for digging
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. chair — a leader
  24. last — to go 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