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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. chair — a leader
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bark — to shout
  15. swing — to play on
  16. game — a match
  17. press — newspapers
  18. pass — a permit
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. kick — in football
  22. press — to push
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. pass — to spend time

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