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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — letters
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. spell — magic
  9. press — to push
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. press — a publisher
  14. net — in sport
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. net — after costs
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. net — for catching
  23. press — newspapers
  24. staff — employees

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