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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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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 · bowl · game · rest · cabinet · race · press · prune

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. rest — what's left
  7. race — humankind
  8. rest — a break
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. press — to push
  12. game — a match
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. chest — of your body
  18. race — a contest
  19. chest — a box
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. press — a publisher
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. chest — of your body
  24. press — newspapers

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