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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: press · toast · ball · racket · hand · last · track · cabinet

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. track — to keep track
  3. last — final
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a dance
  9. press — newspapers
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. track — a song
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. last — finally
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. press — to push
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. last — to go on
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. toast — bread
  24. track — a path

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