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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wind — moving air
  5. track — a song
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. press — to push
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. press — newspapers
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. track — to keep track
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. press — a publisher
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. drill — the tool
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wind — moving air
  23. track — a path
  24. drill — army training

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