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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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. press — newspapers
  3. cap — of ice
  4. rash — a series
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. press — to push
  7. chest — of your body
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. press — a publisher
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cell — a phone
  17. hand — help
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — a hat
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chest — a box
  24. fall — to drop

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