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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. chest — a box
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. chest — of your body
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. press — a publisher
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. mine — for digging
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. band — a ring
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. press — newspapers
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. press — to push
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bore — to tire
  24. hide — to keep secret

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