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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wind — moving air
  3. game — wild animals
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chair — a leader
  6. cap — a lid
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. race — the arms race
  9. press — newspapers
  10. game — a match
  11. press — a publisher
  12. wind — moving air
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. race — a contest
  18. cap — a hat
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. race — humankind

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