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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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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: chair · craft · face · rush · pitcher · present · last · press

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. craft — boats
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. face — to confront
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. press — a publisher
  9. craft — a skill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. last — final
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chair — a leader
  15. last — to go on
  16. present — there
  17. press — to push
  18. last — finally
  19. face — to point toward
  20. press — newspapers
  21. present — the time now
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. face — part of the head
  24. present — a gift

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