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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: chair · trunk · press · mark · mate · rash · last · bay

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. last — final
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. mate — to breed
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. chair — a leader
  7. rash — a series
  8. press — newspapers
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. rash — hasty
  13. mark — a trace
  14. last — to go on
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. last — finally
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. mark — a grade
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. mate — a friend
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. press — to push
  24. press — a publisher

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