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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: straw · chest · track · ball · pop · foot · press · rash

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rash — hasty
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. press — to push
  7. pop — soda
  8. chest — a box
  9. track — to keep track
  10. pop — to visit
  11. ball — a great time
  12. rash — a series
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. foot — a measure
  15. press — newspapers
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. pop — music
  18. press — a publisher
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. chest — of your body
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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