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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 116 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 · mate · snap · press · coach · ground · chair · bear

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. ground — a position
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bear — the animal
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. ground — crushed
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. mate — to breed
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. rest — what's left
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mate — a partner
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. press — newspapers
  18. snap — to click
  19. mate — a friend
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chair — a leader
  23. rest — what's left
  24. ground — the earth

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