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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kid — to tease
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. spell — magic
  5. mate — to breed
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. press — newspapers
  8. chest — a box
  9. spell — letters
  10. mate — a partner
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bank — of a river
  13. spell — a short time
  14. press — a publisher
  15. bank — for money
  16. chest — of your body
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bank — for money
  19. press — to push
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. mate — a friend
  23. squash — to crush
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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