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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. can — a tin
  4. craft — a skill
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. press — to push
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — boats
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fall — to drop
  11. spell — a short time
  12. press — a publisher
  13. spell — letters
  14. can — to be able to
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. press — newspapers
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. capital — money
  22. spell — magic
  23. can — a tin
  24. capital — a city

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