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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: chest · drill · band · kid · face · press · bulb · bowl

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. drill — a practice
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bulb — for light
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. drill — army training
  7. band — a music group
  8. face — to point toward
  9. drill — the tool
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. band — a ring
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. kid — child
  19. face — to confront
  20. press — to push
  21. bulb — for light
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. press — newspapers

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