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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: mug · press · cabinet · chest · rule · wake · saw · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. press — to push
  3. mug — a cup
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rule — government
  8. press — newspapers
  9. rule — a law
  10. lean — to bend
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. mug — to rob
  13. press — a publisher
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. lean — thin
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. saw — the tool
  23. chest — a box
  24. mug — a face

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