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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. fork — in a road
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. cap — a hat
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. cap — a lid
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. band — a ring
  9. row — a line
  10. press — a publisher
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. press — newspapers
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. press — to push
  19. rush — hurry
  20. cap — of ice
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. row — to paddle
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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