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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. club — for dancing
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. press — to push
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. chest — a box
  12. club — for golf
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. club — a group
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bat — the animal
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. press — a publisher
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. press — newspapers

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