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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. row — a line
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. suit — to fit
  5. last — final
  6. suit — in cards
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. row — to paddle
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. bulb — for light
  14. field — for sport
  15. chest — of your body
  16. last — finally
  17. press — newspapers
  18. last — to go on
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. suit — clothes
  21. press — a publisher
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. bulb — for light

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