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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. press — a publisher
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — of a plant
  10. lie — to recline
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cold — not warm
  15. press — newspapers
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. press — to push
  21. root — the cause
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. scale — size or range

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