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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 120 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 · cell · saw · cabinet · net

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. press — to push
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. net — for catching
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. saw — the tool
  10. net — in sport
  11. cell — a phone
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. saw — the tool
  15. net — after costs
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. press — newspapers

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