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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: march · hide · game · vault · bat · stick · chair · press

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. march — the month
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. vault — a safe
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — to push
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. march — the month
  14. game — a match
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. bat — the animal
  17. chair — a leader
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. march — music
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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