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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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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: wind · calf · season · bay · cell · march · press · chair

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wind — moving air
  3. press — to push
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. march — music
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. chair — a leader
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. press — newspapers
  17. march — the month
  18. press — a publisher
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cell — a phone
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. season — in sport
  23. march — the month
  24. calf — a young animal

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