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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: press · chest · snap · race · row · lean

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. race — the arms race
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. race — a contest
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — to push
  7. lean — to bend
  8. chest — of your body
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. snap — to click
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. row — to paddle
  16. lean — thin
  17. press — newspapers
  18. race — humankind

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