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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: kick · stem · pop · file · press · chest · face · capital

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. press — a publisher
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. press — newspapers
  10. capital — a city
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — soda
  13. chest — a box
  14. pop — to visit
  15. press — to push
  16. capital — money
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. face — part of the head
  19. file — a line of people
  20. chest — of your body
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. kick — in football
  24. stem — of a plant

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