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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: bank · press · march · nail · scale · chest · firm · bat

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. firm — steady
  3. bat — the animal
  4. scale — in music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. march — music
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. press — to push
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bank — for money
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. firm — decided
  18. scale — size or range
  19. chest — a box
  20. firm — a company
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. bank — of a river
  24. scale — for weighing

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