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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. press — to push
  3. ball — a dance
  4. press — newspapers
  5. cold — an illness
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. file — a document
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. file — a tool
  16. craft — boats
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. ball — a great time
  20. cold — not warm
  21. press — a publisher
  22. craft — a skill
  23. file — a line of people
  24. coach — a trainer

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