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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. lean — to bend
  4. mug — a face
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. press — a publisher
  9. mug — a cup
  10. press — to push
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. band — a music group
  14. mug — to rob
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. content — the amount
  17. press — newspapers
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. band — a ring
  22. lean — thin
  23. kid — child
  24. lean — to rest against

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