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

Word bank: chair · staff · lean · mate · kid · press

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. lean — to bend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. kid — child
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. staff — employees
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. staff — employees
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — a partner
  12. press — to push
  13. lean — thin
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. kid — to tease
  16. staff — a stick
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — newspapers

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