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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: chest · dip · band · nail · bound · hand · press · scale

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chest — a box
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bound — obliged
  6. scale — size or range
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a ring
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bound — certain
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. hand — help
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. press — newspapers
  15. band — a music group
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. scale — in music
  19. dip — to sink
  20. bound — tied together
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. chest — of your body
  23. press — a publisher
  24. nail — on a finger

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