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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 · calf · chest · rest · chip · lean · kick · safe

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. rest — a break
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. press — a publisher
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. press — newspapers
  10. lean — thin
  11. rest — what's left
  12. press — to push
  13. chest — a box
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. rest — what's left
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chest — of your body
  21. lean — to bend
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. kick — in football

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