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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. press — to push
  3. mark — a trace
  4. rash — a series
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. face — to confront
  11. march — music
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. face — to point toward
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wind — moving air
  18. face — part of the head
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. rash — hasty
  21. press — a publisher
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mark — a grade

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