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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. chair — a leader
  5. clip — to cut
  6. press — to push
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. clip — a video
  9. fine — all right
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. last — to go on
  12. staff — employees
  13. last — final
  14. swing — to play on
  15. press — a publisher
  16. swing — in golf
  17. clip — for paper
  18. press — newspapers
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. fine — high quality
  24. swing — music

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