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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: last · press · game · branch · pass · rock · hand · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. last — final
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. chair — a leader
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. rock — a stone
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. press — a publisher
  10. last — finally
  11. press — newspapers
  12. branch — a division
  13. hand — help
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. last — to go on
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pass — a permit
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rock — music
  23. game — a match
  24. press — to push

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