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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: plane · nail · rest · pitcher · press · chest · row · cell

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. rest — what's left
  4. press — a publisher
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cell — in biology
  8. row — a line
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. chest — of your body
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. press — to push
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. cell — a phone
  22. press — newspapers
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. row — to paddle

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