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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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. row — a line
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. press — to push
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pit — in a race
  7. mate — a partner
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. land — a country
  10. press — a publisher
  11. pit — a hole
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. land — ground
  19. fork — in a road
  20. land — to come down
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. mate — a friend
  23. row — to paddle
  24. mate — to breed

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