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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: march · object · kid · press · chest · temple · prune · pop

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. pop — music
  5. press — to push
  6. chest — a box
  7. object — an aim
  8. press — newspapers
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. kid — child
  11. chest — of your body
  12. prune — to trim
  13. object — to protest
  14. press — a publisher
  15. march — music
  16. kid — to tease
  17. march — the month
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — soda
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. march — the month
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. object — a thing
  24. temple — side of the head

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