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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · chest · stand · rest · press · arm

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stand — to bear
  7. kid — child
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rest — what's left
  10. press — newspapers
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. rest — a break
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. chest — of your body
  16. press — a publisher
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. chest — a box

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