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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 meat?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. craft — a skill
  3. press — newspapers
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kid — child
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. press — a publisher
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — in sport
  13. craft — boats
  14. staff — a stick
  15. prune — to trim
  16. chest — a box
  17. kid — to tease
  18. net — in sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. net — after costs
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. net — for catching
  24. press — to push

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