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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. perch — the fish
  3. track — to keep track
  4. press — a publisher
  5. pit — a hole
  6. tear — from crying
  7. press — to push
  8. track — a song
  9. tear — to rip
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rash — a series
  12. track — a path
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. rash — hasty
  16. pit — in a race
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. tear — from crying
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. coach — a trainer
  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