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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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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: content · chest · drill · rest · cap · tear · press · cell

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. press — to push
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. drill — the tool
  7. press — newspapers
  8. cap — of ice
  9. drill — a practice
  10. press — a publisher
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. rest — a break
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cap — a hat
  15. drill — army training
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cell — in biology
  18. rest — what's left
  19. content — the amount
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cell — a phone
  22. content — happy
  23. cap — a lid
  24. rest — what's left

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