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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. kid — child
  3. season — in sport
  4. press — newspapers
  5. chair — a leader
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bound — tied together
  9. rush — hurry
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bark — to shout
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. kid — to tease
  18. press — to push
  19. season — of the year
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bound — certain
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. wound — an injury

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