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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. press — to push
  3. rest — what's left
  4. press — a publisher
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. craft — boats
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chest — a box
  11. press — newspapers
  12. degree — from a university
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rest — a break
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. tear — to rip
  17. degree — an amount
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rest — what's left
  20. degree — temperature
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. tear — from crying
  24. craft — a handicraft

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