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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. ground — a position
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. branch — a division
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. ground — crushed
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — to push
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. pass — a permit
  18. press — newspapers
  19. degree — temperature
  20. ground — the earth
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to click
  24. degree — from a university

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