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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. ground — the earth
  5. present — there
  6. chair — a leader
  7. rock — music
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — a publisher
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. ground — a position
  16. present — a gift
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. present — the time now
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. ground — crushed
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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