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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. clip — to cut
  3. staff — a stick
  4. drill — a practice
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fall — the season
  7. drill — army training
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. shower — rain
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. shower — to wash
  14. fall — to drop
  15. staff — employees
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. staff — employees
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. drill — the tool
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. clip — a video
  24. branch — a division

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