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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: hide · chair · bear · cabinet · press · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bear — the animal
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. press — a publisher
  12. bear — the animal
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. press — newspapers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. press — to push
  18. chair — a professorship

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