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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. tear — to rip
  5. press — to push
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. tear — from crying
  11. court — of law
  12. cell — a phone
  13. court — for sport
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. pass — a permit
  16. press — a publisher
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. court — of a king
  20. press — newspapers
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. chair — a leader
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. tear — from crying

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