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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mug — a cup
  6. cold — not warm
  7. last — to go on
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mug — to rob
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. press — a publisher
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. press — to push
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. press — newspapers
  19. craft — a skill
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chair — a leader
  22. mug — a face
  23. craft — boats
  24. cold — the Cold War

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