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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. capital — money
  4. craft — boats
  5. pitch — completely
  6. roll — a list
  7. press — newspapers
  8. press — to push
  9. chair — a leader
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. roll — a cake
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. stem — to come from
  22. craft — a skill
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. chair — a professorship

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