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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. chair — a leader
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a dance
  5. press — newspapers
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. rash — hasty
  9. press — a publisher
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. ball — a great time
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. press — to push
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. rash — a series
  24. game — wild animals

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