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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 · net · press · craft · content · pound

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. net — in sport
  3. content — happy
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. press — to push
  7. chest — a box
  8. content — the amount
  9. craft — boats
  10. net — for catching
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. craft — a skill
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — a publisher
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. chest — of your body
  17. net — after costs
  18. craft — a handicraft

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