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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 116 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: staff · chair · pound · squash · snap · face · game · press

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. face — part of the head
  3. press — newspapers
  4. squash — to crush
  5. press — a publisher
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. game — a match
  9. face — to confront
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pound — a weight
  12. staff — a stick
  13. game — wild animals
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. face — to point toward
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. press — to push
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. squash — the sport
  22. staff — employees
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. staff — employees

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