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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: press · present · cell · club · lie · ruler · lash · chair

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. press — a publisher
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for dancing
  7. lie — to recline
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. present — a gift
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. present — the time now
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a leader
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. cell — in biology
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. club — for golf
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — to push
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. cell — a phone

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