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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. spring — of water
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. spring — a coil
  6. key — for a lock
  7. key — in music
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. cell — a phone
  13. press — newspapers
  14. swing — music
  15. march — music
  16. cell — in biology
  17. key — the most important part
  18. press — to push
  19. chair — a leader
  20. press — a publisher
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. swing — in golf
  24. spring — the season

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