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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: swing · cap · last · season · chest · ball · coach · press

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — music
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. season — of the year
  7. last — final
  8. press — newspapers
  9. chest — of your body
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cap — a hat
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. press — a publisher
  14. swing — in golf
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. last — finally
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. ball — a dance
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. last — to go on
  23. season — in sport
  24. press — to push

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