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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. tube — a container
  5. rash — hasty
  6. net — after costs
  7. press — a publisher
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. tube — the underground
  10. press — newspapers
  11. spring — the season
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. press — to push
  19. spring — a coil
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. spring — of water
  24. bowl — a dish

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