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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: rush · pound · chest · fall · press · rest · band · straw

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. band — a ring
  3. chest — a box
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. press — to push
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. rest — a break
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. press — a publisher
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pound — a weight
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rush — hurry
  19. fall — the season
  20. rest — what's left
  21. band — a music group
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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