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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. key — the most important part
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. last — final
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. key — for a lock
  7. last — finally
  8. kid — child
  9. last — to go on
  10. field — a subject
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. press — newspapers
  16. field — for sport
  17. lie — to recline
  18. key — in music
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. press — a publisher
  24. field — farmland

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