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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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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: press · lash · chair · net · cabinet · mug · plane · tube

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. chair — a leader
  5. press — to push
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. press — newspapers
  8. net — after costs
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. plane — a tool
  15. mug — a cup
  16. tube — a container
  17. net — in sport
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. tube — the underground
  20. mug — a face
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. mug — to rob
  23. net — for catching
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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