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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. net — after costs
  7. game — wild animals
  8. squash — the sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. press — a publisher
  12. game — a match
  13. kid — to tease
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stem — to come from
  16. press — newspapers
  17. squash — to crush
  18. net — in sport
  19. chair — a leader
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. press — to push
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. kid — child
  24. stand — to bear

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