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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: chest · present · pitcher · wake · press · game · coach · bore

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. press — newspapers
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bore — to tire
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. present — a gift
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chest — of your body
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. present — there
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. game — a match
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bore — to drill
  19. chest — a box
  20. present — the time now
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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