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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. saw — the tool
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. cold — an illness
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. season — in sport
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. saw — the tool
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. press — a publisher
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. press — newspapers
  19. season — of the year
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. press — to push
  22. rock — a stone
  23. chair — a leader
  24. kick — in football

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