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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: press · rest · chest · trunk · fine · track · straw · ground

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  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 — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. chest — a box
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. track — to keep track
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. rest — what's left
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. ground — a position
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fine — high quality
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rest — a break
  18. rest — what's left
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. track — a song
  21. fine — all right
  22. track — a path
  23. trunk — of a car
  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