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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: chest · press · nail · wake · kid · present

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. present — there
  5. chest — of your body
  6. press — newspapers
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wake — a trail
  9. kid — child
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. kid — to tease
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. present — a gift
  15. press — to push
  16. present — the time now
  17. press — a publisher
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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