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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 · racket · club · press · cell · mug

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — to rob
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. press — to push
  6. chest — of your body
  7. club — for golf
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. club — a group
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. mug — a face
  12. club — for dancing
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — a publisher
  15. cell — a phone
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cell — in biology

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