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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. last — final
  3. press — newspapers
  4. last — finally
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. ground — the earth
  8. press — a publisher
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. land — ground
  11. current — happening now
  12. ground — a position
  13. land — a country
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — a trace
  16. last — to go on
  17. pound — a weight
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. current — electric
  21. land — to come down
  22. current — of water
  23. ground — crushed
  24. press — to push

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