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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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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: chair · press · cell · pound · hide · foot · content · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. cell — a phone
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. lean — thin
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. foot — a measure
  13. content — happy
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — a publisher
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. content — the amount
  20. lean — to bend
  21. pound — a weight
  22. chair — a leader
  23. press — to push
  24. hide — to keep secret

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