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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: chest · press · wave · staff · capital · arm

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. staff — a stick
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. chest — a box
  7. press — newspapers
  8. capital — a city
  9. chest — of your body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. capital — money
  12. press — a publisher
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. staff — employees
  15. chest — of your body
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. staff — employees

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