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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: field · rule · hand · wax · racket · press · snap · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rule — a law
  3. wax — to grow
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. press — newspapers
  8. hand — help
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. rule — government
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. chest — a box
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to click
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. press — to push
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. press — a publisher

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