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

Word bank: press · fall · chest · deal · drill · scale

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. 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. fall — to drop
  2. drill — the tool
  3. deal — to handle
  4. chest — of your body
  5. press — a publisher
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. fall — the season
  9. scale — size or range
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. drill — army training
  12. fall — to drop
  13. scale — in music
  14. drill — a practice
  15. press — to push
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. 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