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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. press — a publisher
  4. march — the month
  5. press — to push
  6. fork — in a road
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. kid — to tease
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. kid — child
  12. press — newspapers
  13. lie — to recline
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — to get on
  16. march — the month
  17. chest — a box
  18. capital — a city
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. march — music

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