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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: club · pitcher · press · root · lie · coach · roll · clip

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — to push
  4. root — the cause
  5. club — for dancing
  6. roll — a cake
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. roll — a list
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. club — for golf
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. clip — a video
  16. root — of a plant
  17. clip — to cut
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. club — a group
  20. press — newspapers
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. root — of a word
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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