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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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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: ground · fork · land · cell · row · press · chair · safe

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. press — newspapers
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. press — a publisher
  5. ground — the earth
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cell — in biology
  8. land — ground
  9. press — to push
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. ground — crushed
  12. row — to paddle
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. row — a line
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. ground — a position
  18. land — to come down
  19. cell — a phone
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. fork — in a road
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. land — a country

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