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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. press — to push
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. file — a document
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. march — the month
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. file — a line of people
  11. press — a publisher
  12. march — music
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. clip — a video
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. file — a tool
  20. press — newspapers
  21. clip — to cut
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. clip — for paper
  24. wave — 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