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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. tear — from crying
  3. net — for catching
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. chest — a box
  6. press — newspapers
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. chest — of your body
  9. tear — to rip
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. chest — of your body
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. press — to push
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. tear — from crying
  16. spell — letters
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. press — a publisher
  19. net — after costs
  20. spell — a short time
  21. net — in sport
  22. spell — magic
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. racket — for tennis

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