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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 120 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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. mate — a partner
  3. chair — a leader
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. press — a publisher
  7. sharp — clever
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. cold — not warm
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mate — to breed
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pass — a permit
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. press — to push
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. stem — to come from
  24. press — newspapers

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