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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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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. press — newspapers
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spell — letters
  5. clip — for paper
  6. press — to push
  7. clip — a video
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chest — a box
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — a weight
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — humankind
  14. chair — a leader
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. spell — a short time
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mug — a face
  19. press — a publisher
  20. race — the arms race
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mug — a cup
  24. spell — magic

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