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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. chip — to eat
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. board — a committee
  6. craft — boats
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. board — to get on
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. craft — a skill
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. press — newspapers
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. pass — a permit
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. chip — for betting
  20. press — to push
  21. cold — not warm
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to click
  24. cold — an illness

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