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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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. lean — to bend
  3. net — in sport
  4. rest — a break
  5. chest — of your body
  6. present — the time now
  7. press — a publisher
  8. net — after costs
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rest — what's left
  12. capital — money
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. press — to push
  15. present — a gift
  16. chest — of your body
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. present — there
  20. net — for catching
  21. rest — what's left
  22. lean — thin
  23. chest — a box
  24. lean — to rest against

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