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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 116 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. net — for catching
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. press — a publisher
  7. mine — for digging
  8. staff — a stick
  9. press — to push
  10. net — in sport
  11. key — for a lock
  12. press — newspapers
  13. key — the most important part
  14. mark — a trace
  15. staff — employees
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. net — after costs
  18. key — in music
  19. mark — a grade
  20. chair — a leader
  21. staff — employees
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — for dogs

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