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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mark — a trace
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. hand — help
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mark — a grade
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. press — to push
  15. face — to confront
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. press — a publisher
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bat — the animal
  21. face — part of the head
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. press — newspapers
  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