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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. roll — a cake
  3. press — a publisher
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. chest — of your body
  6. mate — to breed
  7. chest — a box
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. date — the fruit
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. roll — a list
  13. press — newspapers
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — a partner
  17. craft — boats
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. craft — a skill
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. pitch — completely
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. press — to push
  24. roll — on a roll

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