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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. pop — to visit
  6. hand — help
  7. club — for dancing
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — soda
  11. club — for golf
  12. press — newspapers
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. hand — in cards
  18. club — a group

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