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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. perch — the fish
  3. staff — a stick
  4. chair — a leader
  5. net — after costs
  6. chip — to eat
  7. press — newspapers
  8. staff — employees
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. board — a committee
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. march — the month
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. board — to get on
  16. staff — employees
  17. press — a publisher
  18. march — the month
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. press — to push
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. march — music
  24. chip — in a computer

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