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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: wake · press · object · shower · coach · game · chest · kid

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chest — of your body
  3. press — a publisher
  4. kid — child
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. wake — a trail
  8. object — a thing
  9. kid — to tease
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. chest — a box
  12. shower — rain
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a match
  16. object — an aim
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. object — to protest
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chest — of your body
  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