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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: last · stick · press · chest · pit · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pit — a hole
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. chest — of your body
  7. press — a publisher
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. press — newspapers
  11. last — finally
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. last — to go on
  15. row — to paddle
  16. press — to push
  17. last — final
  18. chest — a box

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