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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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Word bank
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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: foot · hand · cabinet · toast · press · march

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. press — a publisher
  3. hand — help
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. press — to push
  7. toast — bread
  8. press — newspapers
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. march — music
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. hand — in cards

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