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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. present — a gift
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — there
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. hand — in cards
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a leader
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. hand — help
  19. press — newspapers
  20. spring — the season
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. racket — a loud noise

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