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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. rash — hasty
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. press — a publisher
  8. rash — a series
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. press — to push
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. snap — to click
  13. season — in sport
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ball — a great time
  19. press — newspapers
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. ball — a dance
  23. straw — dry grass
  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