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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · cell · press · bulb · key · kid

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bulb — for light
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. key — in music
  8. chest — a box
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. kid — child
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — to push
  17. cell — a phone
  18. press — newspapers

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