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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: game · coach · racket · arm · prune · press · kick · chest

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. press — a publisher
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. game — a match
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. press — newspapers
  14. chest — of your body
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. kick — in football
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chest — of your body
  19. game — wild animals
  20. press — to push
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. chest — a box
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. prune — to trim

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