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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: band · pitch · chair · kick · cell · bear · saw · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cell — a phone
  4. band — a music group
  5. saw — the tool
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — in football
  8. bear — the animal
  9. band — a ring
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. press — newspapers
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. chair — a leader
  18. press — a publisher
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cell — in biology
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pitch — completely

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