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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. bear — the animal
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — newspapers
  6. land — to come down
  7. bear — the animal
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. cold — not warm
  10. land — a country
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chair — a leader
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. press — to push
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bat — the animal
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. land — ground
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. bat — for baseball

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