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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: cap · nail · cold · calf · lie · press · chest · bass

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chest — of your body
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. bass — the fish
  6. chest — a box
  7. lie — to recline
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cold — an illness
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bass — low music
  17. cold — not warm
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cap — of ice
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. bass — the instrument

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