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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: calf · game · chest · drill · press · band · spring · row

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. press — newspapers
  4. press — to push
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. game — wild animals
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. drill — army training
  10. band — a ring
  11. row — to paddle
  12. drill — the tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. row — a line
  17. drill — a practice
  18. press — a publisher
  19. chest — of your body
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. chest — a box
  22. band — a music group
  23. spring — of water
  24. calf — a young 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