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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: mouse · coach · race · degree · net · chest · kid · press

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. press — newspapers
  5. degree — from a university
  6. net — after costs
  7. race — the arms race
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. press — to push
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. net — for catching
  14. race — a contest
  15. kid — to tease
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. chest — a box
  20. degree — temperature
  21. press — a publisher
  22. race — humankind
  23. kid — child
  24. net — in sport

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