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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 124 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. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. ground — crushed
  7. club — for golf
  8. ground — a position
  9. chair — a leader
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. press — a publisher
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. press — newspapers
  15. roll — a list
  16. club — for dancing
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. roll — a cake
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. press — to push
  24. club — a 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