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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · press · chair · game · fork · bore · perch · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. press — a publisher
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. game — a match
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. spring — of water
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. spring — the season
  13. fork — in a road
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. press — newspapers
  16. perch — the fish
  17. press — to push
  18. spring — a coil
  19. season — in sport
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to drill
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bore — to tire
  24. fork — to eat with

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