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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. chair — a leader
  4. spring — the season
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. rock — music
  9. cap — a hat
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. spring — of water
  12. sharp — clever
  13. spring — a coil
  14. press — a publisher
  15. branch — a division
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. press — newspapers
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — of ice
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. fork — in a road

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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