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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. fall — to drop
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. press — a publisher
  5. squash — to crush
  6. chest — of your body
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. mate — to breed
  11. press — to push
  12. fall — the season
  13. tear — to rip
  14. chest — of your body
  15. squash — the sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. press — newspapers
  19. kick — in football
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — a friend
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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