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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: bass · cell · bear · chest · press · hide

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bear — the animal
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. chest — a box
  7. bass — low music
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cell — in biology
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. press — a publisher
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. chest — of your body
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cell — in a prison

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