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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. stock — shares
  4. lean — to bend
  5. chair — a leader
  6. press — a publisher
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. lean — thin
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pound — a weight
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. game — wild animals
  15. perch — the fish
  16. game — a match
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. press — newspapers
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — for light

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