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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. press — newspapers
  6. press — to push
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. capital — a city
  12. prune — to trim
  13. net — in sport
  14. dip — to sink
  15. press — a publisher
  16. prune — to trim
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. net — after costs
  20. cell — in biology
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. net — for catching
  23. capital — money
  24. chair — a leader

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