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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. degree — from a university
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chest — of your body
  8. press — a publisher
  9. toast — bread
  10. press — to push
  11. bat — the animal
  12. key — in music
  13. key — for a lock
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. saw — the tool
  16. degree — an amount
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. degree — temperature
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. key — the most important part
  24. press — newspapers

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