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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: ground · degree · chest · deal · press · lean · board · sharp

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. press — to push
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. chest — of your body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. press — a publisher
  7. board — to get on
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. deal — to handle
  10. sharp — clever
  11. degree — from a university
  12. lean — to bend
  13. ground — the earth
  14. chest — of your body
  15. lean — thin
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. chest — a box
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — a position
  20. degree — temperature
  21. press — newspapers
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — a committee

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