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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · rest · date · lie · pitch · chest · press · roll

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. press — to push
  3. rest — what's left
  4. chest — of your body
  5. press — a publisher
  6. pitch — completely
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. lie — to recline
  9. rest — a break
  10. chest — a box
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. roll — a cake
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rest — what's left
  18. hand — in cards
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. press — newspapers
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. roll — a list
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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