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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: coach · scale · press · tear · mug · root · last · kid

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mug — a face
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. last — finally
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kid — child
  7. last — to go on
  8. kid — to tease
  9. last — final
  10. mug — a cup
  11. root — of a plant
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. press — a publisher
  14. tear — from crying
  15. root — of a word
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. root — the cause
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mug — to rob
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. press — to push
  22. scale — size or range
  23. press — newspapers
  24. scale — in music

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