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

Word bank: chest · kid · mark · club · press · stand

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. press — newspapers
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stand — to bear
  12. press — a publisher
  13. mark — a trace
  14. chest — a box
  15. mark — a grade
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. club — a group
  18. press — to push

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