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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. cold — an illness
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. toast — bread
  5. press — to push
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. spring — a coil
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. press — a publisher
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. press — newspapers
  17. spring — the season
  18. cold — not warm
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. dip — to sink
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. spring — of water
  24. racket — a loud noise

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