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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: tube · cap · wind · current · board · chair · press · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. press — a publisher
  4. tube — the underground
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. current — electric
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. current — happening now
  10. last — finally
  11. press — to push
  12. board — to get on
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — to go on
  15. cap — of ice
  16. press — newspapers
  17. chair — a leader
  18. current — of water
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wind — moving air
  23. board — a committee
  24. tube — a container

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