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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: can · ball · press · mate · ground · chest · cold · trunk

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. can — to be able to
  3. chest — a box
  4. cold — an illness
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. mate — a friend
  10. ground — crushed
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mate — a partner
  14. ball — a great time
  15. can — a tin
  16. mate — to breed
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. press — newspapers
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. chest — of your body
  22. can — a tin
  23. ground — a position
  24. ball — a dance

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