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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.

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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: fan · press · face · present · stem · chair · bound · ground

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. press — a publisher
  3. face — to confront
  4. ground — the earth
  5. chair — a leader
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. press — to push
  8. bound — certain
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bound — obliged
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. present — there
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bound — tied together
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. present — the time now
  20. face — to point toward
  21. ground — a position
  22. present — a gift
  23. press — newspapers
  24. ground — crushed

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