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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: stem · chest · band · pit · press · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pit — a hole
  3. rest — a break
  4. stem — to come from
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pit — in a race
  7. rest — what's left
  8. chest — a box
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — newspapers
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. press — to push
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. chest — of your body

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