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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: chest · prune · shower · mine · press · coach · lean · bulb

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. press — newspapers
  3. prune — to trim
  4. chest — of your body
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bulb — for light
  7. lean — thin
  8. shower — to wash
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. prune — to trim
  11. press — to push
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. mine — for digging
  16. chest — a box
  17. lean — to bend
  18. press — a publisher
  19. chest — of your body
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bulb — for light

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