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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: row · press · board · chair · hide · present

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. present — a gift
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. row — to paddle
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. chair — a leader
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — a publisher
  13. present — the time now
  14. press — to push
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. row — a line
  17. present — there
  18. board — a committee

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