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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 120 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 · racket · wave · degree · rest · straw · press · bank

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bank — for money
  9. rest — a break
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. bank — of a river
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — to push
  15. bank — for money
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. press — a publisher
  20. degree — from a university
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. chest — a box
  23. rest — what's left
  24. straw — dry grass

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