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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. kid — child
  4. staff — employees
  5. tube — the underground
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. kid — to tease
  13. chair — a leader
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. tube — a container
  17. chest — of your body
  18. staff — employees
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — to push
  21. chest — a box
  22. press — a publisher
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. chest — of your body

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