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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. press — to push
  3. present — a gift
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. press — a publisher
  6. saw — the tool
  7. chair — a leader
  8. saw — the tool
  9. vault — a safe
  10. ground — the earth
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cell — in biology
  14. hand — help
  15. cell — a phone
  16. ground — crushed
  17. present — there
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. present — the time now
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. ground — a position
  24. press — newspapers

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