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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. press — to push
  3. season — of the year
  4. rest — what's left
  5. staff — employees
  6. rest — a break
  7. season — in sport
  8. mark — a trace
  9. last — final
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. spell — letters
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. chair — a leader
  14. last — to go on
  15. press — newspapers
  16. mark — a grade
  17. spell — a short time
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. spell — magic
  20. last — finally
  21. press — a publisher
  22. staff — employees
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chair — to sit on

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