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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. press — a publisher
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. press — newspapers
  5. kid — to tease
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kid — child
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chest — of your body
  12. prune — to trim
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chest — a box
  17. perch — the fish
  18. spring — a coil
  19. march — the month
  20. press — to push
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. spring — of water
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. spring — the season

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