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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: can · chest · game · coach · press · bay · rush · perch

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. 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. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. can — a tin
  4. chest — of your body
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. press — to push
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. chest — of your body
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. game — wild animals
  15. press — a publisher
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. chest — a box
  18. can — a tin
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. can — to be able to
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. 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