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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 120 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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. press — to push
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. game — wild animals
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. press — newspapers
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. game — a match
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cap — a hat
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. kick — in football
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cap — of ice
  19. capital — a city
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. press — a publisher
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. cap — a lid
  24. capital — money

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