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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: chest · cabinet · pitch · nail · drill · press · cold · racket

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. pitch — completely
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. drill — army training
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. drill — a practice
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chest — of your body
  11. press — newspapers
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chest — a box
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cabinet — ministers

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