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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: rest · press · jam · cap · kid · chair

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  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. jam — a tight spot
  2. cap — a lid
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. press — a publisher
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. kid — child
  9. press — to push
  10. cap — a hat
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. chair — a leader
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cap — of ice
  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