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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. game — wild animals
  6. press — to push
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. press — a publisher
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. saw — the tool
  14. band — a music group
  15. game — a match
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. prune — to trim
  18. band — a ring
  19. prune — to trim
  20. press — newspapers
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bore — to drill
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bore — to tire

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