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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. root — of a word
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chair — a leader
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. land — to come down
  10. press — a publisher
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. present — a gift
  14. press — to push
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a line
  17. present — there
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. press — newspapers
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. land — a country
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. present — the time now

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