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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. rule — a law
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. object — to protest
  6. chair — a leader
  7. season — of the year
  8. press — to push
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. press — newspapers
  14. season — in sport
  15. rule — government
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — an aim
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — before a funeral

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