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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: sharp · bat · plane · scale · march · chest · coach · press

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. press — to push
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. press — a publisher
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. plane — a tool
  9. press — newspapers
  10. march — the month
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. march — music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. scale — size or range
  16. chest — of your body
  17. march — the month
  18. chest — of your body
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. scale — in music
  22. chest — a box
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bat — the animal

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