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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. swing — music
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. press — a publisher
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. shower — rain
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — clever
  12. press — newspapers
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. shower — to wash
  20. branch — a division
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. press — to push
  24. ball — a dance

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