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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. press — to push
  8. season — in sport
  9. capital — a city
  10. season — of the year
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. lean — thin
  17. band — a music group
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. band — a ring
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. capital — money
  24. rush — to hurry

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