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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. craft — boats
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. mate — a friend
  8. press — to push
  9. press — a publisher
  10. mate — to breed
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. press — newspapers
  13. mark — a grade
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — a match
  18. mate — a partner
  19. chair — a leader
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mark — a trace
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. craft — a skill
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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