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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 120 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: tear · march · deal · chair · stick · press · mug · staff

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. staff — a stick
  3. march — music
  4. staff — employees
  5. press — a publisher
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. staff — employees
  8. tear — to rip
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. mug — a face
  11. mug — a cup
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. march — the month
  18. press — to push
  19. mug — to rob
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. deal — to handle
  22. press — newspapers
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. march — the month

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