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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. chest — a box
  4. press — newspapers
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. squash — the sport
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — to push
  10. cell — a phone
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bear — the animal
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. chest — of your body

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