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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. press — to push
  3. content — happy
  4. pitch — completely
  5. staff — employees
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. chest — of your body
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. hand — in cards
  10. row — a line
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. roll — a list
  13. chest — a box
  14. row — to paddle
  15. press — newspapers
  16. hand — help
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. chest — of your body
  19. staff — employees
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. roll — a cake
  22. content — the amount
  23. press — a publisher
  24. staff — a stick

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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