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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. lean — thin
  3. rock — a stone
  4. rock — music
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. game — wild animals
  7. press — a publisher
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. press — to push
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. press — newspapers
  13. game — a match
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. lean — to bend
  21. cold — not warm
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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