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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. press — to push
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. roll — a list
  6. roll — a cake
  7. press — newspapers
  8. press — a publisher
  9. clip — for paper
  10. file — a document
  11. toast — bread
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. file — a tool
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. clip — to cut
  21. file — a line of people
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. clip — a video

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