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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 116 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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fork — in a road
  4. lie — to recline
  5. land — to come down
  6. chair — a leader
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. land — a country
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cold — not warm
  16. present — a gift
  17. vault — a safe
  18. present — the time now
  19. land — ground
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. press — to push
  22. press — a publisher
  23. present — there
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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