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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. press — a publisher
  4. wind — moving air
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wind — moving air
  9. content — the amount
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. press — newspapers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. last — final
  14. band — a music group
  15. content — happy
  16. last — finally
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. band — a ring
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. chair — a leader
  22. last — to go on
  23. press — to push
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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