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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. press — to push
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. march — the month
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. kid — to tease
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. press — newspapers
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a dance
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chest — of your body
  20. deal — to handle
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. march — music
  23. press — a publisher
  24. coach — a trainer

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