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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 · press · date · pound · vault · game · bank · cap

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. chest — of your body
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. vault — a safe
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. chest — of your body
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. press — a publisher
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. date — the fruit
  13. bank — of a river
  14. chest — a box
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. game — a match
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cap — a hat
  23. date — on the calendar
  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