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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: net · tear · pound · press · club · chest · firm · content

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. firm — steady
  3. content — the amount
  4. press — a publisher
  5. chest — a box
  6. content — happy
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. club — for dancing
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. firm — decided
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. chest — of your body
  20. tear — to rip
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — a group
  23. net — for catching
  24. chest — of your 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