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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 120 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. band — a music group
  3. mug — a cup
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mug — to rob
  6. band — a ring
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mug — a face
  9. rest — a break
  10. press — a publisher
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cold — not warm
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. press — to push
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cold — an illness
  18. press — newspapers
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — the underground
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. pit — in a race
  24. chair — a leader

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