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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. chair — a leader
  4. ball — a dance
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. branch — a division
  10. dip — to sink
  11. wind — moving air
  12. ball — a great time
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. press — to push
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. press — a publisher
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. press — newspapers
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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