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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. press — newspapers
  2. staff — employees
  3. current — electric
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. shower — to wash
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. staff — employees
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. current — happening now
  10. press — a publisher
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. shower — rain
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. current — of water
  17. staff — a stick
  18. press — to push
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. vault — a safe
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. chair — a leader
  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