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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 120 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. clip — to cut
  4. chair — a leader
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — of the year
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — a gift
  10. press — to push
  11. bound — certain
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bound — obliged
  16. press — a publisher
  17. craft — a skill
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bound — tied together
  20. season — in sport
  21. present — there
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. craft — boats

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