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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 · swing · bay · pitcher · fall · shower · bore · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. swing — in golf
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chest — a box
  8. press — a publisher
  9. swing — to play on
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bore — to tire
  12. swing — music
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. shower — rain
  16. fall — the season
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bore — to drill
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. press — newspapers

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