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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lean — thin
  3. chest — of your body
  4. press — to push
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. root — of a plant
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. stock — goods
  9. lean — to bend
  10. ground — a position
  11. stock — shares
  12. ground — crushed
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. press — a publisher
  16. root — of a word
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. root — the cause
  19. ground — the earth
  20. chest — a box
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. press — newspapers

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