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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 116 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. row — to paddle
  3. last — to go on
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. chair — a leader
  8. press — a publisher
  9. row — a line
  10. last — finally
  11. cold — not warm
  12. last — final
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. press — to push
  20. press — newspapers
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. fan — to cool the air

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