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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. press — to push
  3. bear — the animal
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mate — to breed
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. press — a publisher
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cell — a phone
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. mate — a partner
  18. chair — a leader
  19. cell — in biology
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mate — a friend
  24. chair — to sit on

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