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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: race · press · roll · kick · coach · tube · cabinet · saw

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. race — humankind
  5. tube — a container
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. tube — the underground
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. press — newspapers
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. press — to push
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. roll — a cake
  22. kick — in football
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. roll — a list

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