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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: chest · mine · firm · bowl · chair · press · cap · bank

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bank — of a river
  3. press — to push
  4. chair — a leader
  5. firm — decided
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. firm — a company
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. press — a publisher
  11. firm — steady
  12. chest — of your body
  13. press — newspapers
  14. chest — a box
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cap — a hat
  20. mine — for digging
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bowl — to roll

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