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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 120 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. lean — to bend
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cue — for pool
  5. snap — to click
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cue — a signal
  9. chest — a box
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. lean — thin
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. firm — decided
  17. press — to push
  18. cue — a hint
  19. firm — a company
  20. firm — steady
  21. press — newspapers
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. chair — a leader
  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