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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: chest · tear · present · race · fork · nail · press · season

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. chest — of your body
  3. race — the arms race
  4. season — in sport
  5. chest — of your body
  6. race — humankind
  7. present — a gift
  8. fork — in a road
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chest — a box
  11. race — a contest
  12. present — the time now
  13. season — of the year
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. press — to push
  18. present — there
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. tear — to rip
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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