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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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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: face · press · drill · chip · branch · land · chest · fan

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. face — to confront
  4. press — newspapers
  5. chip — for betting
  6. face — part of the head
  7. branch — a division
  8. drill — a practice
  9. land — ground
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. drill — the tool
  12. face — to point toward
  13. drill — army training
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. press — to push
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. press — a publisher
  20. chip — to eat
  21. land — a country
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. land — to come down
  24. chest — a box

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