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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cell · last · sharp · land · press · chair · safe · pitch

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. land — to come down
  3. chair — a leader
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cell — a phone
  6. sharp — clever
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. last — final
  10. land — ground
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. cell — in biology
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pitch — completely
  18. last — finally
  19. land — a country
  20. press — newspapers
  21. last — to go on
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. press — to push

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