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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: game · date · press · stand · chair · ground · band · prune

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. stand — to bear
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. press — to push
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. press — newspapers
  10. ground — the earth
  11. band — a music group
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. ground — crushed
  15. prune — to trim
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. band — a ring
  20. ground — a position
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. date — the fruit
  23. chair — a leader
  24. game — a match

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