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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: charge · chest · press · ground · tear · chair · wax · row

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. charge — in control
  3. ground — the earth
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. press — to push
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. charge — electricity
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. charge — a price
  12. wax — to grow
  13. tear — from crying
  14. press — newspapers
  15. ground — crushed
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. press — a publisher
  19. chair — a leader
  20. ground — a position
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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