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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. hand — help
  3. bank — for money
  4. cold — not warm
  5. chair — a leader
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. press — a publisher
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bank — of a river
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. bank — for money
  22. press — to push
  23. press — newspapers
  24. plane — in geometry

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