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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. kid — child
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cold — an illness
  5. press — to push
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. spring — the season
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chip — for betting
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. press — a publisher
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wake — a trail
  15. toast — bread
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. kid — to tease
  19. spring — of water
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. spring — a coil
  24. chair — a professorship

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