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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. press — to push
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. net — after costs
  5. chair — a leader
  6. net — for catching
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. net — in sport
  9. court — for sport
  10. mate — a friend
  11. march — music
  12. mate — to breed
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mate — a partner
  15. march — the month
  16. press — newspapers
  17. march — the month
  18. sharp — clever
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. press — a publisher
  24. chip — for betting

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