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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: pound · chair · mate · prune · chest · press · row · wave

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. chest — a box
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. mate — a friend
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. pound — a weight
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. press — a publisher
  12. chest — of your body
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. press — to push
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mate — a partner
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. chair — a leader

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