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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 120 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: hide · mug · pop · cap · court · chest · net · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. mug — to rob
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cap — a lid
  5. net — for catching
  6. mug — a cup
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pop — to visit
  9. chest — a box
  10. pop — music
  11. court — for sport
  12. net — in sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. net — after costs
  15. pop — soda
  16. mug — a face
  17. chest — of your body
  18. press — a publisher
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. court — of law
  22. cap — a hat
  23. press — newspapers
  24. cap — of ice

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