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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  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. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. band — a music group
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. row — a line
  8. press — to push
  9. band — a ring
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. row — to paddle
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bear — the animal
  14. ground — the earth
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. ground — crushed
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bear — the animal
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. press — newspapers
  23. ground — a position
  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