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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: staff · chest · press · band · file · rule · hand · foot

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. foot — a measure
  3. staff — employees
  4. rule — a law
  5. press — a publisher
  6. file — a document
  7. rule — government
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hand — help
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. staff — employees
  12. hand — in cards
  13. staff — a stick
  14. chest — of your body
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. press — to push
  17. chest — a box
  18. band — a music group
  19. file — a tool
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. band — a ring
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. file — a line of people
  24. hand — part of the body

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