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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: spring · season · chair · foot · press · staff · cabinet · wound

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. press — to push
  4. chair — a leader
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. press — a publisher
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. foot — a measure
  12. staff — a stick
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spring — a coil
  15. season — in sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. season — of the year
  19. spring — the season
  20. staff — employees
  21. spring — of water
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. press — newspapers

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