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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. chest — of your body
  3. press — a publisher
  4. chest — a box
  5. kid — to tease
  6. press — newspapers
  7. perch — the fish
  8. kid — child
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. ball — a great time
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. chest — of your body
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. ball — a dance
  18. press — to push
  19. sharp — clever
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. toast — bread
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. sharp — with an edge

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