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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: pitcher · chest · ground · hand · press · wave · track · calf

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. press — newspapers
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. press — to push
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. ground — a position
  13. press — a publisher
  14. ground — crushed
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. hand — help
  18. track — a path
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. track — a song
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. hand — in cards
  24. calf — of the leg

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