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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 120 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: chest · band · press · staff · track · can · content · lean

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. can — a tin
  3. content — happy
  4. lean — thin
  5. track — to keep track
  6. can — to be able to
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. chest — of your body
  10. press — newspapers
  11. chest — a box
  12. lean — to bend
  13. staff — employees
  14. press — a publisher
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. track — a path
  17. press — to push
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. band — a music group
  20. can — a tin
  21. content — the amount
  22. chest — of your body
  23. staff — a stick
  24. staff — employees

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