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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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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: press · nail · fan · season · ground · kid · wake · chest

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. ground — a position
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. press — a publisher
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. ground — crushed
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — in sport
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — to push
  13. chest — a box
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. chest — of your body
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kid — to tease
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. kid — child
  24. wake — a trail

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