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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. chair — a leader
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — the underground
  9. can — to be able to
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. can — a tin
  12. fall — the season
  13. cold — an illness
  14. scale — in music
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. can — a tin
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cold — not warm
  19. tube — a container
  20. fall — to drop
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. scale — size or range

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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