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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bat — the animal
  3. face — to point toward
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pop — music
  6. kick — in football
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — soda
  10. press — to push
  11. chair — a leader
  12. press — a publisher
  13. root — of a plant
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. face — to confront
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — the cause
  19. prune — to trim
  20. press — newspapers
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. face — part of the head
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bat — in an idiom

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