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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: tear · press · chest · track · rest · pop

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. track — a song
  5. rest — a break
  6. pop — soda
  7. chest — of your body
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. tear — from crying
  11. track — a path
  12. pop — to visit
  13. press — a publisher
  14. pop — music
  15. chest — a box
  16. rest — what's left
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rest — what's left

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