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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. press — to push
  6. field — farmland
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. press — a publisher
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. object — a thing
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. field — a subject
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. content — the amount
  15. object — an aim
  16. content — happy
  17. press — newspapers
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. object — to protest
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. field — for sport
  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