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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mate — a partner
  3. tear — from crying
  4. object — to protest
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tube — the underground
  9. season — of the year
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. season — in sport
  13. mate — a friend
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. tube — a container
  17. last — finally
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. object — an aim
  21. press — to push
  22. tear — to rip
  23. object — a thing
  24. mate — to breed

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