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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: stem · chest · track · press · nail · bear · ground · row

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. row — to paddle
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bear — the animal
  6. ground — a position
  7. chest — of your body
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. track — to keep track
  10. press — newspapers
  11. ground — the earth
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ground — crushed
  15. row — a line
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. track — a path
  19. press — a publisher
  20. chest — a box
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. press — to push
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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