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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  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. track — a path
  2. rest — what's left
  3. press — to push
  4. chest — a box
  5. rest — what's left
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ground — a position
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. mine — for digging
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. saw — the tool
  14. press — a publisher
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. saw — the tool
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — crushed
  19. track — a song
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. rest — a break
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. track — to keep track
  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