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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. chest — of your body
  4. drill — the tool
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rush — hurry
  7. present — there
  8. squash — to crush
  9. press — newspapers
  10. drill — army training
  11. chest — a box
  12. clip — a video
  13. present — a gift
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. press — to push
  18. squash — the sport
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. present — the time now
  21. drill — a practice
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. clip — to cut
  24. press — a publisher

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