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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: row · nail · jam · chest · season · tear · lash · press

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. row — a line
  5. tear — from crying
  6. season — of the year
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. tear — to rip
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. press — a publisher
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. row — to paddle
  18. tear — from crying
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. season — in sport
  21. chest — a box
  22. press — newspapers
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. press — to push

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