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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. press — to push
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bound — obliged
  9. drill — a practice
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. season — in sport
  12. cell — in biology
  13. press — a publisher
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bat — the animal
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bound — certain
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. drill — the tool
  23. stand — to bear
  24. bound — tied together

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