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

Word bank: cell · chest · press · race · mouse · season

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. season — of the year
  4. race — humankind
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. press — to push
  9. press — newspapers
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cell — a phone
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. race — a contest
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. chest — a box
  17. race — the arms race
  18. mouse — for a computer

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